IndexIntroductionRacism and prejudice in OthelloConclusionBibliographyIntroductionWilliam Shakespeare is famous not only for his mastery of the use of language, but also for his ability to raise controversial topics in his works. This essay uses an excerpt from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Literary Remains to show how it might help readers understand one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, Othello. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "Roderigo: How much fortune the talker owes, if he can bring it so. [1.1.67]" ...here is one, if not the only, apparent justification of our dark or negro Othello. Even assuming that this is an unbroken tradition of the theater, and that Shakespeare himself, due to lack of scenes, and experience that nothing could be. made too marked for the senses of his audience, he had practically sanctioned it, - would this prove anything about his intentions as a poet for all ages? Can we imagine him so completely ignorant as to compel a barbarous negro to invoke royal birth,—at a time, moreover, when negroes were known only as slaves? - As for Iago's language towards Brabantio, it simply implies that Othello was a Moor, that is, black... No doubt Desdemona had already seen Othello's face in her mind; , as we are constituted, and certainly as the English public was disposed in the early seventeenth century, it would be something monstrous to imagine this beautiful Venetian girl falling in love with a real black man. He would argue a disproportionality, a lack of balance, in Desdemona, which Shakespeare does not seem to have contemplated in the slightest." a marriage between a "beautiful Venetian girl" and a "real negro", in Othello he sees Shakespeare's transformation of a "barbarian negro "in a respected soldier and nobleman of stature as "ignorant," since at the time, "niggers." were not known except as slaves.' The excerpt seems to raise two questions: how central is the taboo of miscegenation in the play, and to what extent is Othello's reputation capable of counteracting this prejudice and prejudice in Othello It is certainly not difficult to conclude that Othello is probably Shakespeare's most controversial play. There is a clear theme of racism throughout, firmly rooted in Venetian society which rejects the marriage of Othello and Desdemona as wrong, "against all the rules of nature", Nothing separates Othello from "the rich and curled dears of 'our nation,' except the color of their skin - equals or even surpasses them in reputation. At the beginning of the play, he seems confident that, OTHELLO: My parts, my title and my soul perfect they will manifest me correctly.Othello 1.2.31. -2When called before the court on charges of witchcraft, the evil Iago is able to appeal to Othello's deeply rooted insecurities about his race to make Othello and Desdemona the against each other until their marriage fails. Essentially, Iago is a representative of the white race, a pre-Nazi figure who seeks to inform the audience of the impurity of the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. It demonstrates how this miscegenation is a threat to the existing social order and, ultimately, Othello's successes in one life are not enough to divert others from prejudices in a moment of crisis (such as Desdemona's escape) or to support his self-esteem in the long term. run. Othello is structured so that the main premise of the play, which introduces the main themes, appears at the beginning. It is obvious that Iago has planned a scheme of malevolent proportions with Othello as the target. It's thecatalyst of all the destructive events within the opera starting from the beginninghe and Roderigo approach Brabantio's residence in 1.1. He uses crude and racist language to appeal to the senator's traditional beliefs, including phrases such as, IAGO: Even now, now, right now, an old black ram is pummeling your white sheep! Othello 1.1.87-88 Iago even goes so far as to propose that Brabantio's nephews are animals because of his daughter's vile marriage to an "other". IAGO: ...you will have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you will have your nephews nearby, you will have Corsi for cousins ​​and Jennet for the Germans. Othello 1.1.109-112 We are later told that Iago's motive is jealousy and that he uses the rhetoric of racism to undermine Othello, playing on Brabantio's prejudices to provoke him, although, as Othello later tells it, "His my father loved me, he often invited me." [1.3.129] All it takes is a shock and a few vulgar comments from Iago to make a respected figure rebel against a close friend of his own stature simply because of the color of his skin. Technically, Brabantio was not legally entitled to annul his daughter's marriage to the Moor since she was over the age of consent, however, culturally, he had all the support necessary to challenge the marriage given the common racist assumptions of the time, e.g he accuses Othello of witchcraft and sorcery. This means firstly that he cannot imagine his daughter willingly deceiving him, an understandable reaction given his past dutiful, "so tender and just and happy" behavior and the nature of the patriarchal society in which he lives. lived. Secondly, like Coleridge, he cannot believe that she would ever have "fallen in love with what she feared to look at", without the aid of spells, and thirdly, he suggests that Othello's race makes him capable of these powers of "black" magic - we must ask ourselves; if Desdemona had eloped with Roderigo, would he have been accused of witchcraft? If Brabantio had not returned to his prejudices and remained calm, he might have considered questioning the legality of the marriage on the basis of the consummation requirement in Canon Law, but he does not do so, choosing instead to attempt to annul it by arguing that his the daughter was the victim of spells and witchcraft. In other words, Brabantio, a respected member of Venetian society, could have logically and legally contested the marriage contract, but instead resorts to using prejudicial assumptions as weapons, encouraged by Iago. These events, so early in the play, establish the idea of ​​the purity and goodness of whiteness, suggesting that other races represent darkness and evil. The stark binary opposition between Othello's darkness and Desdemona's clear whiteness is established and united in marriage, a concept that Shakespeare seems to experiment with to suggest the chaos that would result in a cultural context. Although Othello is not considered the most intelligent and cunning character in the play, he is one of Shakespeare's bravest characters and exemplifies a certain wit unusual to the European notion of a Moor. He is an eloquent and romantic man who has won the heart of a senator's daughter, despite his confession that "I am rude in my speech", and the Duke admits that "this story would win my daughter too". Othello is a hero who led a long life full of good deeds, which were necessary for a black man to tolerate his existence in a predominantly white culture. He fought as a Venetian soldier and won the trust of his people. But has he really won their trust? We witnessed how quickly Brabantio forgot his honorable nature. Othello had won Desdemona's love with his storiesof battle and had also promised the wounded Brabantio that for the same reason he would be a loyal son-in-law. He should be able to transcend certain preconceived notions of race through his heroism and courage. He took over the entire socio-political structure and for a time had his own way, but the work shows all too clearly how little value his reputation had, in the eyes.of others and of himself. In Act 1, the audience witnesses Brabantio's reaction to his daughter's escape, and this is extremely significant. Thus far Othello has been treated with great reverence in Venetian society, but Shakespeare creates a moment of crisis to examine the extent to which Othello's reputation defines him when he needs it most. As long as logic exists, there will be little room for prejudice, which is based on illogical and irrational "gut" feelings, but Iago works by removing logic, his crudeness and his basic animal images bring out the primal side of others. Unfortunately, it shows how easy it is to achieve this through a moment of crisis and a few choice words. The first act presents the opera almost in miniature; Iago moves on to bigger and better things when he manages to make Othello turn social prejudices on himself. The scene with Brabantio also demonstrates that Iago's provocation is as capable of infuriating a Venetian civil senator as it is (as the Elizabethan audience would see it) a hot-blooded Moor. Othello's racial "characteristics", such as short temper and jealousy, (hypotheses held at the time) do not lead to his downfall - Iago does - but he is only able to achieve it by working on Othello's weaknesses, his insecurity being about his central race in this. The 'temptation scene' of 3.3 is crucial to understanding the methods used by Iago to make Othello doubt Desdemona, making him doubt himself. His first move after Othello's denial of his infidelity is to assure him that "I know well the character of our country", reminding him of his nature as an outsider and, as such, of a lesser authority to know the customs of women Venetians, and indeed, women in general, playing on his insecurities and his inexperience in relationships with the opposite sex. He is forced to trust Iago to explain the world to him. “Yet as nature, wandering of itself –” is the crucial point at which we see Othello collapse – he has linked Desdemona's rejection of 'curled treasures' or 'natural' choices for husbands with the existence of something innately unnatural and suspicious in its existence. his character. In line 267, he makes a rare reference to his blackness in a negative way, and begins to compare himself to Cassius, who is fair, eloquent, and courteous, and also reveals his insecurity about his age. However, when he sees her, he refuses to believe Iago, but as we see, the damage has been done and he returns to Iago to ask for "ocular evidence". Othello is then very easily deceived by a thin and flimsy illusion, whereupon he vows to kill her, without confronting her even once. The ease with which Iago was able to achieve this feat is frightening, and is based entirely on a simple optical trick and his ability to play on Othello's insecurities, much of which is due to his race, and disbelief towards of Desdemona's love. We must not forget to observe Desdemona's behavior to witness the cultural taboo in action. Desdemona is depicted as a divine figure, but extremely naive. Her naivety is illustrated in her conversations with her husband. He does not know that Othello is the object of Iago's manipulation, nor does he understand the implications of his speech. In Act 1, Iago states that, IAGO: It cannot be that Desdemona long continues her love for the Moor.)