Stereotypes In William Shakespeare's Othello

Othello is a Moorish man living in medieval Venice, who is by all accounts well-respected by most of the other characters. He is rendered “exotic” by his background, but this doesn’t seem to impede the advancements and long strides which he has successfully made over time, through his merit he succeeds in rising to the upper echelons of the Venetian military. As the plot of the play continues to be unwrapped however, the progress and success that he has made for himself is slowly undone. Othello becomes the victim of a conspiracy that plays largely on racial stereotypes, which demonstrates that his position was considerably less secure than he had believed. Thus, in spite of his accomplishments Othello remains the Other, and his position is …show more content…
But as accomplishments are wont to do, his success is closely followed by the indignation of a man whom Othello had believed to be his good friend and confidante. In the very first scene of the play, this so-called friend, a man by the name of Iago, expresses the disdain and envy that he holds for Othello to Rodrigo. Because he is angered that Othello looked him over and instead gave a promotion to the rank of lieutenant to another man, Iago vows to exact revenge against the Moor, and thus sets in motion an unscrupulous and wickedly elaborate conspiracy to unseat Othello, and to destroy all that he has accomplished through the power of his will, talent and military prowess. A superficial reading of this basic premise will lose sight of the racist component in this scenario. What is Iago after all, but a disgruntled employee who believes himself to have been unfairly looked over for a promotion? Such a scenario could just as easily happen in the world of today, with Othello’s race having little, if anything to do, with the anger expressed by Iago. When one performs a closer reading of the scenario and the events that follow however, the anger and plot hatched by Iago and Rodrigo features Othello’s race