Similarities Between Othello And The Moor Of Venice

Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice differs in focus from both the Greek tragedies and the playwright’s other works by addressing the personal tragedy, rather than the grand tragedies of state. By using a general as the tragic hero rather than a monarch or noble, Shakespeare’s work mirrors the political and economic changes occurring during the transition from feudal to capitalist systems, and establishes a new form of evil that retains the classic lack of knowledge. Through the emphasis of personal scandal, Othello explains that the mercantile system uses control of information to purge itself of insurrection, rather than the earlier military dominated systems, thereby warning that the bourgeois class exerts power by eliminating

For instance, Shakespeare holds that war and military might no longer maintain the esteem of their former glory, but rather exist subject to the control of media and information. As various messengers contradict in reporting “The Turkish preparation makes for Rhodes” (I.iii.14) and “Their purpose toward Cyprus” (I.iii.39), the Venetian military lacks the ability to ability to act without mediated information, and the work thus diverts itself from the grand and stately matter of the war. Because “the desperate tempest hath so bang’d the Turks that their designment halts” (II.i.21–22), Othello acts as a tragedy not of stately, but of personal affairs, which in turn emphasizes the spectacular nature of scandal and diverts the viewer from the political and economic conditions and limits such a spectator’s influence by means of disinterest. Additionally, Iago takes initial, and still minor, grievance at Othello’s promotion of “a great arithmetician” (I.i.19) to the lieutenancy, and his actions use misinformation to subvert the chain of command, overthrowing both the General and his second-in-command, warning that the media controls military and state, as control of the means of communication in turn

Racism against Othello exists in part (though among a multitude of reasons) as a measure against the collapse of the Venetian regime, a rising emblem of capitalism as a major trade oligarchic republic. For example, many prejudiced attacks on Othello imply that he taints Desdemona, the daughter of a Senator, and for Othello a possible inlet to the higher echelons of Venetian politics. By excluding the general from civil power, Brabantio consolidates his own power and that of the other leaders. The approval of Othello’s marriage by the Duke who maintains that Othello “is more fair than black” (I.iii.287), concedes to the need for Othello to assist the Venetian State in the war against the Ottomans, yet still subjugates him in order to prevent power beyond that which the elite can continue to control. In Othello’s final speech he attempts to restore his honour, as he has “done the state some service and they know’t” (V.II.335), and asks that they “speak of [him] as [he is]; nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice” (V.II.338–339), in requesting the truth, Othello rejects the mediation of the Venetian leadership, as such manipulation of both fact and lie exists solely as a means to the protection of the burgeoning mercantile