racialised language to present Othello as an outsider/other

Question 1

the thicklips

Answer 1

Roderigo 1.1 - this racialised synecdochal image of Othello others him

Question 2

though he in a fertile clime dwell,/Plague him with flies

Answer 2

Iago 1.1 - whilst Othello is represented as high-up and respected in Venetian society, the religious imagery of Moses associates him as a religious and racial other

Question 3

an old black ram

Answer 3

Iago 1.1 - this racialised zoomorphic metaphor dehumanises Othello and others him

Question 4

a Barbary horse

Answer 4

Iago 1.1 - this necessarily racialised image (Barbary is a country in North Africa) combined with the zoomorphic image further dehumanises Othello

Question 5

the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor

Answer 5

Iago 1.1 - this insult presents Othello as stereotypically sexually promiscuous

Question 6

the sooty bosom/Of such a thing as thou

Answer 6

Brabantio 1.2 - this racialised language others Othello, with the noun ‘thing’ aggressively dehumanises him

Question 7

For if such actions may have passage free/Bond-slaves and pagans shall out statesmen be

Answer 7

Brabantio 1.3 - this final rhyming couplet emphasises the racist language that others Othello and attacks his past as a slave, whilst also foreshadowing the disruption of the natural order that this union will bring, and the ensuing chaos

Question 8

[She is abused, stolen from me and corrupted/]By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks

Answer 8

Brabantio 1.3 - perpetuates stereotypes of Othello’s race and heritage and racial tropes of the black person and the Moor as unchristian

Question 9

To fall in love with what she feared to look on?

Answer 9

Brabantio 1.3 - racialised language others Othello by suggesting that his visage should be feared just due to appearance

Question 10

If virtue no delighted beauty lack/Your son-in-law is far more fair than black

Answer 10

Duke 1.3 - this rhyming couplet uses racist and derogatory language to imply that Othello is a good person, yet by implication also suggests that someone of his race would be expected to be a terrible person

Question 11

an erring Barbarian

Answer 11

Iago 1.3 - this others Othello by feeding into racist stereotypes

Question 12

[Othello] will as tenderly be led by th’ nose/As asses are

Answer 12

Iago 1.3 - here, the zoomorphic simile suggests that Othello’s trusting nature is what will make him easy to manipulate, but also others him