Race In Othello Flashcards
(4 cards)
Why is the moor of Venice an oxymoron?
It’s an oxymoron just like ‘honest iago’ bc a moor (meaning Muslim or from sub-Saharan Africa) is not of Venice- a moor cannot be of Venice so it shows the paradox of a man who is both and is not of Venice. Parallel with merchant of Venice, but make different use of the word ‘of’ bc a merchant can be of Venice. Therefore, this exposes the two juxtaposing ideologies of othello which is self-corrosive.
In his final speech - paralipsis. Labelled ‘othello’s music’ because his self-centredness is selfish taking the spotlight and crafting his own eulogy (influenced by the dead’s last actions or speech) is on his military successes and not of the dead bodes behind him. This also shows his complicated position bc he is of Venice bc he is their defender against the Turk but also he is the Turk himself and so the gesture of killing the Turk is turned on himself in suicide. Critic Eliot views othello ‘cheering himself up’ as self centred but is problematic bc it shows the symbol of a united self is lost in this parable of ethnic outsiders. The hard ‘t’ plosive sound in ‘othello’ sounds like ‘ottoman,’ racial and outsider undertone. Interestingly, othello repeats his name the most in the play - humanise himself.
Othello begins in a position of advantage precisely bc he is a political and social outsider, but he is ultimately undone by his self-consciousness of being a racial outsider. 1.
Venice does not care about othello’s blackness, they like it bc his foreigners makes him the perfect soldier for Venice- Venetians wouldn’t have to lose any of their own men to battle. Context - moors as military mercenaries so there was this awareness that foreign military men were in a way political commodities.
Duke sees great practical value in othello so is not that interested over branbantio’s bickering: ‘the affair cries haste, and speed must answer it. You must away tonight.’ ‘If virtue no delighted beauty lacks, your son-in-law is far more fair than black.’
- Othello is a polarising outsider to Venetians
‘An old black ram is tupping your white ewe.’ The fact that iago is describing both husband and wife in the same lowly light (compared them to ‘sheep’) prejudiced to interracial marriage. Iago is not bothered by othello’s blackness, but exploits it. Positive view of othello in ‘come, lieutenant, i have a stoop of wine… to the health of black othello’ -iago to Cassio 2.3
Racial epithets used by branbantio and Roderigo is jealousy. Othello’s real threat is not his race but the possibility that an outsider could swoop in and take away all that an outsider could sweep in and take away all that the native Venetians have taken for granted as their god-given right
Therefore othello’s race isnt so much a mark of shame. No one cares about his race than he himself
‘Begrimed and black’
‘Haply for i am black
