Shakespeare’s modern audience cannot prevent seeing race while reading Othello, largely due to the cultural baggage each person brings to the play. Most of the world has a history of enslaving African Americans, so the derogatory terms in the play, connected to blackness, create deeper parallels than Shakespeare ever could have foreseen while writing Othello. Although the term “black” was not used as a racial descriptor, the term “Moor” was. It provided a regional and religious description of the person. Moors are known to be people from North Africa and of Islamic faith. As a Moor, they had the stereotypical physical characteristics of African people. I It is likely that this concept would be used to provide dramatic irony more than to pose
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The play does not mention how long Othello has been in Venice, but it is clear that people still do not trust him with much outside of the military. Ironically, his outsider status is being exploited to provide for a city that he does not truly accept him. For example, Brabantio thinks enough of Othello to invite him over to tell the stories of battles and sieges but finds it unthinkable for Othello to be with Desdemona. Brabantio does not trust Othello partly because “he does not really fit into the Venetian world” (Garber 593). Othello tries but will never be like the …show more content…
Othello has issues separating Othello the lover and Othello the soldier; “he does not see the two roles are not mutually displacing or substitutive” (Garber 595). Being cuckolded by his wife not only jeopardizes his manhood privately but potentially ruins his military career—everything to Othello. Manhood was paramount during this time period. In order to receive respect, one must be viewed as a man. Being the man to a cheating wife not only shows that a man cannot control his household but that he is not providing his woman with her necessities. “If wives do fall. Say that they [husbands] slack their duties” (4.3.86) because “wives have sense [desires] like them” (4.3.93). If she had everything she needed, there would be no need for another
The play does not mention how long Othello has been in Venice, but it is clear that people still do not trust him with much outside of the military. Ironically, his outsider status is being exploited to provide for a city that he does not truly accept him. For example, Brabantio thinks enough of Othello to invite him over to tell the stories of battles and sieges but finds it unthinkable for Othello to be with Desdemona. Brabantio does not trust Othello partly because “he does not really fit into the Venetian world” (Garber 593). Othello tries but will never be like the …show more content…
Othello has issues separating Othello the lover and Othello the soldier; “he does not see the two roles are not mutually displacing or substitutive” (Garber 595). Being cuckolded by his wife not only jeopardizes his manhood privately but potentially ruins his military career—everything to Othello. Manhood was paramount during this time period. In order to receive respect, one must be viewed as a man. Being the man to a cheating wife not only shows that a man cannot control his household but that he is not providing his woman with her necessities. “If wives do fall. Say that they [husbands] slack their duties” (4.3.86) because “wives have sense [desires] like them” (4.3.93). If she had everything she needed, there would be no need for another