Racism in Shakespeares Othello Essay -- GCSE English Literature Cours

Racism in Othello Samuel Taylor Coleridges Literary Remains is just one of the essays that presents an attack on Shakespeare for his lack of realness in the monstrous depiction of a marriage between a beautiful Venetian girl, and a veritable negro, in Othello. He sees Shakespeares transformation of a barbarous negro into a respected pass and nobleman of stature as ignorant, since at the time, negroes were not known except as slaves. (Appendix) The extract seems to raise two questions - how central is the taboo of miscegeny to the play, and to what extent is Othellos temper able to counter this prejudice? It is certainly not hard to conclude that Othello is probably Shakespeares most controversial play. There is a clear theme of racism throughout, one which was firmly embedded in the Venetian society which rejects the marriage of Othello and Desdemona as erring, against all rules of nature, 1.3.102 Nothing separates Othello from, the wealthy curled darlings of our nation, 1.2. 68 except skin-color - he matches or even exceeds them in reputation. At the start of the play, he appears confident that, OTHELLO My parts, my title, and my perfect soulShall manifest me rightly.Othello 1.2.31-2 when he is called in front of the court on charges of witchcraft, however the malevolent Iago is able to call on Othellos deep-rooted insecurities about his race in order to play Othello and Desdemona against one another until their marriage fails. Essentially, Iago is a vox of the white race, a pre-Nazi figure who tries to inform the public of the impurity of Othello and Desdemonas marriage. He demonstrates how this miscegenation is threatening to the existing socia... ... that nothing could be made too attach for the senses of his audience, had practically sanctioned it, -- would this prove aught concerning his own intention as a poet for all ages? Can we imagine him so utterly ignorant as to make a barbarous negro plead royal birth, --at a time, too, when negroes w ere not known except as slaves? -- As for Iagos language to Brabantio, it implies merely that Othello was a Moor, that is, black .... No doubt Desdemona saw Othellos visage in his mind yet, as we are constituted, and most surely as an English audience was wedded in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it would be something monstrous to conceive this beautiful Venetian girl falling in love with a veritable negro. It would fight a disproportionateness, a want of balance, in Desdemona, which Shakespeare does not appear to have in the least contemplated.