Othello - A Racist Play?
Othello - A Racist Play?Although there are lots of things to suggest this is a racist
play I don't think that racism actually dominates the play, even
though it has a racist theme. There is a romantic union between black
and white which gets destroyed because most people think the
relationship is wrong. At the time the play was written, 1604, even
the Queen of England was racist so there must have been a strong
hatred of blacks around that time.
Most racist comments in the play are said by people that are
angry or upset. For example, when Emilia found out that Othello
had killed Desdemona she was extremely mad and she called Othello a
"Blacker devil", this was the only time in the play that she had said
anything racist about Othello. The main characters that have racist
attitudes are Iago, Brabantio, Roderigo and Emilia, with the hatred of
Othello as the basis for their racist actions and comments towards
him. Iago is the most racist character in the book as he has it in for
Othello right from the start. What sparks off Iago's hate towards him
is the fact that when Othello chose his lieutenant , it was Cassio who
was chosen instead of Iago. What made Iago angry was the fact that
Cassio had no experience in war when he did and Cassio was chosen
instead of him. Iago does not say anything racist to Othello's face
but he has a lot to say against him behind his back. He schemes to
destroy Othello and anything in his way including Cassio and
Desdemona. The first time we hear one of his racist comments is when
he's talking to Brabantio about Othello and Desdemona,
"Even now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe".
Iago says this to try and turn Brabantio against Othello. Iago uses
racist comments all the way through the play, as he tries to turn
people against Othello, for example calling him a "Barbary Horse". He
never says anything racist to Othello's face because in his plot he
had to be his best friend, so as not to make him suspicious that Iago
was causing all the trouble for him. Iago is jealous of Othello for
many reasons, one being that Othello has higher ranking in the army
than him, and also he has a good marriage with Desdemona which Iago
does not have himself with Emilia. These are the main causes of his
hatred for Othello and the reason he adopts such a racist attitude.
Roderigo is another one of the racist characters in the play,
being so right from the start. He is Iago's accomplice and will do
anything that Iago wants him to. I think he does this because of the
way Iago can twist a situation to make it sound as if Roderigo would
get something...
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