Othello, By William Shakespeare - 1515 Words

Shakespeare’s Othello is seemingly about the blooming affection between a man and a woman. However, it is a love story gone wrong—or is portrayed as so by the author. In the historical context of Othello, which is set during the Turkish-Venetian war in the 16th century, it is essential to emphasize that Othello is the love story between Othello, the Moorish general, and Desdemona, the Venetian lady. This racial difference is most problematic to the eyes of the white Venetian society, allowing characters like Brabantio, Roderigo, and Iago to use this weakness against Othello. The hatred and jealousy, especially by Iago, is clearly illustrated through the language they use in referring to Othello. While Shakespeare uses characters like Iago†¦show more content†¦To Roderigo, a â€Å"lavicious Moor† should not deserve the â€Å"fair daughter† of Brabantio (1.1.127,136). In this statement, Roderigo first draws the invisible line of physical boundary th at Othello, being a black man, cannot surpass; Othello’s character is successfully established in the â€Å"Other† category because he is a visible minority. Then Roderigo, representative of the English at the time, viewed Othello as â€Å"contaminating and threatening† (6), instilling a need to save Desdemona from the black hands, and put her where she naturally belongs, with a white man, preferably himself. This fear of the exotic and lesser-known being is what drives the racism in this play. Then, throughout the play, Othello is alluded to as the â€Å"Moor† more often as opposed to his name, Othello, reminding the audience that he is physically and emotionally an outsider and a foreigner. Even Desdemona, who loves Othello for his mind says, â€Å"That I did love the Moor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1.3.248). Though she means no negativity in calling him a Moor, it still separates him in a certain boundary. Iago, on the other hand, is quite vulgar in language when expressing his feelings towards Othello. â€Å"I have told thee often, and I tell thee again, and again, I hate the Moor,† Iago says (1.3.364-5). Even Emilia, a servant in the Venetian society, refers to Othello as â€Å"dull Moor† (5.2.225) and â€Å"cruel Moor† (5.2.250), inserting a negative connotation to the word. Othello is a visible minority because he