Is Othello A Play About Racism Flashcards
Shakespeare was writing for a Renaissance audience
Venetian senate with Othello’s race
Othello begins the play at an advantage precisely because he is a political and social outsider but he’s ultimately undone by his own crippling self-consciousness of being a racial outsider.
Venice doesn’t care that Othello is a black man, at least not the Venetian state, in fact they like it because Othello being black and foreign is exactly what makes him the perfect soldier. On the one hand, his military prowess helps Venice win against the Turks in their fight over Cyprus.
When the states territorial interests are at stake they could care less about Othello’s skin colour as long as he can help them win the war.
“Be it as you shall privately determine […] Th’ affair cries haste” - Duke
“Your son in law is far more fair than black” fair - good competent, black - ugly and unattractive
The Moor
Othello’s outsider status is frequently alluded to by almost all character in the play. Othello constantly referred to as “the Moor”
Clearly delineates Othello as a separate category, one that isn’t characterised by racial difference but also by cultural and religious difference.
By having these characters refer to Othello as a collective type “the Moor” than a unique individual Othello - highlights the distance between Othello and the Venetians. Moor isn’t always used in a derogatory way, they speak of him as an admirable, noble leader “That I did love the Moor to live with him” Desdemona. Othello’s outsider identity isn’t so much a mark of shame but instead often a source of allure and attractiveness
Othello’s view on his own race
Othello sees his race in a negative light- one of the greatest irony in the play - no one cares about Othello’s race more than Othello.
Racial self consciousness eventually cripples his judgement. 3.3 his insecurities start acting up “haply for I am black” (“haply” implies he is unsure where he stands in Venetian society)
Shakespeare showed us at the start of the play that Othello inspires respect and admiration from the people around him.
Confusion and insecurity impair Othello’s ability to think rationally and see the reality for what it is, as a result he creates an arbitrary association between being “begrimed and black”. Chains these ideas together, forcing a point not on the strength on actual logic but on the stilt of language.
