“Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe.” This quote from Iago, the main villain of the play Othello, shows the underlying theme of racism and hatred in the play. The play Othello, by Shakespeare, is a tragedy that results in the death of many of the characters, such as Othello, Desdemona, his wife, and some of their friends. These deaths are due to a variety of factors, but, throughout the play, many characters adopt racist views toward Othello because of his Moor descent, and many people, such as Desdemona’s father, who is white, oppose their marriage and attempt to break them up. Furthermore, the villain, Iago, further increases the racism among the characters, as he convinces Othello that Desdemona is being
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The performance at the American Players Theatre portrays the racist theme well through the emotionally based acting, which makes the racist ideals portrayed by the characters appear believable. An example of the racist theme occurs near the end of the play when Othello himself says, “Yet I'll not shed her blood, nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow, and smooth as monumental alabaster” (V. ii. 3-5). This statement by Othello is in regard to his decision to kill his wife Desdemona; however, he decides not to stab her, as it would scar her skin. In making this statement, Othello reinforces the racist ideal of the time that white skin is more ideal and pure than colored skin that he has. In the performance by the American Players Theatre, lines like these are portrayed extremely strongly by the actors, as the actors place a high amount of emotion into these lines and make them believable to the audience, such as Othello did with this line. Furthermore, in portraying these lines in an emotional fashion, there was a directorial choice made for Othello to portray these type of lines in an angry fashion, and at some points he was almost shouting the lines. This decision further helped to portray the racist theme of the play, as it helped the audience to understand the emotion behind the lines and make them appear as if they are in real
The performance at the American Players Theatre portrays the racist theme well through the emotionally based acting, which makes the racist ideals portrayed by the characters appear believable. An example of the racist theme occurs near the end of the play when Othello himself says, “Yet I'll not shed her blood, nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow, and smooth as monumental alabaster” (V. ii. 3-5). This statement by Othello is in regard to his decision to kill his wife Desdemona; however, he decides not to stab her, as it would scar her skin. In making this statement, Othello reinforces the racist ideal of the time that white skin is more ideal and pure than colored skin that he has. In the performance by the American Players Theatre, lines like these are portrayed extremely strongly by the actors, as the actors place a high amount of emotion into these lines and make them believable to the audience, such as Othello did with this line. Furthermore, in portraying these lines in an emotional fashion, there was a directorial choice made for Othello to portray these type of lines in an angry fashion, and at some points he was almost shouting the lines. This decision further helped to portray the racist theme of the play, as it helped the audience to understand the emotion behind the lines and make them appear as if they are in real