THEME: Prejudice

Question 1

“An old black ram/ Is tupping your white ewe”

Answer 1

• IAGO 1:1:89-90
• Great Chain of Being - animals were a derogatory comparison, as they fell below humans on the scale that all life was measured by.
• “Black” - a blatant reference to Othello’s race, used in a particularly negative context, which ties this idea of “blackness” to evil and domineering nature. It is also contrasted with “white”, suggesting one is pure while the other is evil.
• “Old black ram” - rams are associated with the devil (e.g. with the horns. Horns are also a sign that a person has been cuckolded: “A horned man’s a monster and a beast.”-OTHELLO). Perhaps ironic as Iago is the devil in this play. Not only this, but within paganism, goats have been presented as malevolent spirits (e.g. the deity Baphomet). Also, they are considered the “unbelievers” in the Bible, perhaps an allusion to Othello’s un-Christian upbringing.

Question 2

“Her name, that was as fresh/ As Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black/ As mine own face”

Answer 2

• OTHELLO 3:3:288-89
• “Dian’s visage” - this idea of the moon and it being white. The moon represents purity (the moon is symbolic of the purity of the Virgin Mary, Artemis and Diana, who were all virginal).
• “Begrimed and black” - the use of harsh, plosive alliteration creates that incredibly negative voice. It also connects the words, associating being black with being dirty. Perhaps this goes further, and this dirtiness may also be the idea of compromised purity.
• The contrast created goes back to the idea that black is bad and white is good.

Question 3

“Lead to the Sagittary, the raised search”

Answer 3

• IAGO 1:1
• Sagittarius = centaur - half-man and half-beast. Is this how Othello is seen by Iago? Centaur’s are also symbolic of barbarism and the wild-untameable side of humans, and sadly, Iago will ensure Othello goes on to fulfill this stereotype.

Question 4

“Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom”

Answer 4

• BRABANTIO 1:3:70
• “Sooty” - suggests fire, maybe even likening him to a hellish being.
• May also be a reference to Othello’s race, implying that Desdemona has left her place of safety, further reinforcing the stereotype that Moors are dangerous.
• The place of women at the time; they were something to be sheltered and protected. The idea of Desdemona deceiving and leaving her father would’ve been unthinkable, and unlike the typical woman of the time.

Question 5

“Your son in law is far more fair than black”

Answer 5

• DUKE 1:3:288