Othello Essay

William Shakespeare’s “Othello” is one of the first pieces of European Literature that depicted a black man as the main character. Seventeenth century Europe was dominated by a white society and black people or “moors” were considered outsiders. Interracial marriages were also looked down upon. Unfortunately, parallels can be drawn between the play and contemporary society. In October of 2009 a white justice of the peace in Louisiana refused to marry an interracial couple and recent news stories of police brutality continue to inform us that racism is alive and rampant in today’s society just as it was in the time of the play.  This ideological perspective on racism is conveyed through character, plot and dialogue.

The characterisation of Othello was moulded by the racist attitudes exhibited in the play. Othello is a black man from north Africa who has travelled the world, been sold into slavery, escaped and became a military commander of the Venetian military. Othello’s status in Venice is complicated, as he is considered an insider and an outsider. As a Christian man and experienced military leader he receives respect and admiration from Venetian citizen. However, being a moor and a foreigner to Venice subjects him to racism. According to Brabantio Othello “enchanted” Desdemona with “foul charm” and “magic spells” otherwise Desdemona would never have run “to the sooty bosom” of Othello. Othello’s marriage to Desdemona prompts some characters to refer to Othello as “thick lips”, the devil an “an old black ram”. These racist comments prove to deep effect Othello as by the end of the play his love and commitment to his wife Desdemona diminishes due to the lies of Iago. This is because Othello absorbs the racist attitudes that surround him in Venice and becomes convinced that he is not good enough for Desdemona because of his race and as a black man he may “soil her”. Othello’s determination to punish Desdemona for infidelity stemmed from his rage that her immoral actions have also damaged him and his reputation. Othello rose to his position due to his self-discipline, perfectionism and consistently being viewed as an outsider because he is a black man in a white society. Desdemona’s alleged disloyalty to Othello would cause other people to also believe she did it because he is black further isolating him in society. This ideological perspective on race is conveyed through the characterisation of Othello who as a result of racism lost the strong relationship he had with his wife as well as his own life. Racism is still rampant in today’s society and the fall of Othello still applies to a contemporary audience as there are many people of colour who take their own life due to the isolation caused by their race.

The plot of Othello is rooted in jealously and driven by racism. The main plot of the play begins when Iago enacts his revenge upon Othello for appointing the inexperienced Cassio as his lieutenant instead of him. Iago manipulates Roderigo who desires Desdemona Othello’s wife. Roderigo expresses his jealousy by calling Othello racial slurs. Both men plot to bring an end to Othello’s marriage by telling Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, that Othello kidnapped her. They succeed in angering Desdemona’s father when they bring up race. Iago says, “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” with this saying Iago and Roderigo hint that Othello and Desdemona’s future children will be “half-breed” who will be ridiculed by society and bring shame upon Brabantio. Iago manages to enrage Brabantio and forbid the marriage of Othello to his daughter. Iago then proceeds to convince Othello that Desdemona is disloyal by playing on Othello’s insecurity that due to his race he is not good enough for Desdemona. Iago succeeds in getting revenge as it results in the death of Desdemona and Othello. The existing racial prejudice in Venetian society drove the main plot of Othello and without Iago’s plan to get revenge would have failed. This portrayal of the effect of racism is still evident in today’s society as several innocent black people have been convicted of crimes as the judges were persuaded by racial prejudice.

Dialogue clearly portrays the racist ideological perspective in the play. In Act 1 Scene 1 lines 97 to 100, Iago uses racist slurs when he wakes Brabantio with the news that his daughter, Desdemona has eloped with Othello. When Iago says an "old black ram" is "tupping" Brabantio's "white ewe", he plays on Elizabethan notions that black men have an animal-like, hyper-sexuality. This seems geared at manipulating Brabantio's fears of miscegenation. Although Othello is Christian, Iago calls him "the devil," playing on a sixteenth century idea that black men were evil and that the devil often took the shape and form of a black man. Later in the play Brabantio accuses Othello of using black magic to marry Desdemona which ties in with this idea. In act 1 scene 1 lines 119 to 131 Iago continues to use animal imagery in his racist diatribe against Othello, which is grounded in the idea that black men are inhuman. Here, Brabantio objects to Iago's claim that Desdemona has eloped by saying his house isn't a "grange" which is a farmhouse. Iago claims that Desdemona married a "barbary horse" and, as a result, Brabantio will have relatives that "neigh to him." In act 1 scene 3 lines 114 to 119 Desdemona's father argues that her love for Othello is unnatural, since, according to him, Desdemona would never fall for a black man who she "fear'd to look on." Iago has played Brabantio perfectly as he knew that Brabantio was racist and, as previous passages demonstrate, he used Brabantio's attitude toward the idea of a mixed marriage in order to rile the man against Othello. Brabantio repeatedly insists that Othello must have "enchanted" Desdemona with "foul charms" and magic spells. Otherwise, he insists, Desdemona never would never have run "to the sooty bosom" of Othello. These racial slurs depicted through the play’s dialogue convey the racist ideology of the time. Parallels can also be drawn of the time of the play and today. Black people aren’t stereotyped as the devil or inhuman but are stereotyped as criminals resulting in police brutality.