Many assumptions have been made about the themes of the Shakespearean tragedy Othello. But only few dare to tackle its actual theme. Written in 1603, the tragedy surrounds the life, times and the incomprehensible demise of its heroic namesake. Othello is undoubtedly the ‘traditional’ hero in terms of valiance and vitality. However, Othello is a black man. A black man who ascended to nobility and risked his life in the process during what was a brutally racist society. None more racist, more bigoted and intolerant of Othello’s blackness than his own trusted friend, fellow soldier and ensign, Iago. The play isn’t simply an examination of the human condition or of the fall of Othello, the noble Moor of Venice, by the hands of his maniacal best
