Othello

Othello

1. Race

   • Being a moor made someone a cultural and racial outsider in Venice.
     • Othello makes a point of him being an outsider.
     • Othello is respected as a soldier, giving him more acceptance in society.
     • Othello is visually an outsider.
   • There were two different types of moors, leading to the question of Othello's race.
   • Only two characters are able to overlook Othello's skin colour: Desdemona and, eventually, her father.
   • White contrasts with black greatly, with white being seen as pure and innocent, whereas black is seen as dirty.
     • This leads to the question of whether Shakespeare was intending to start a change in racial views of the time.
   • There is debates on whether Othello is actually black, or if he is slightly darker than other characters in the play.

2. Women's limited rights

   • Men were dominant in society.
   • Women were under control of their father's before marriage
   • Iago and Brabantio talk about Desdemona like she is property.
   • In the play, both marriages show the men to dominate the woman, even to the point where the men kill their wives.

3. Theatre customs

   • Othello was first played by a black man in 1833.
     • It didn't become custom for Othello to be played by a black man until the 20th century.
     • The first black man to play Othello fell victim to many criticisms about his performance.
   • It was common for white actors to paint themselves dark when playing the role of Othello.

4. Religious divisions

   • To Jacobean audiences, religion was more significant than a person's race.
     • "turned Turk" - became Muslim.
   • People were suspicious of Islam and people were unsure of what it meant when people converted to a different religion.
   • Moors were associated with people who had different religious beliefs other than Christianity - this makes "Othello an oxymoron" as he is a moor, but he is also a noble man.