Reaching Lifelong Goals

The second play that we studied this term in ENG203 Late Shakespeare was Othello.  My research into the topic of racism in Elizabethan England yielded a treasure of sources.   As a Non Traditional Student, I always place a high standard for my papers in this class.   The requirement was for a short 2 page essay about the play.   As per all of my other papers submitted, this one received another A+.   This has become somewhat of a series on this blog, so I decided to continue by posting my paper here.   I’m open to any critical comments from my readers.

The Racism of Othello – Historical Perspectives

When we look at the racial overtones of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, the Moore of Venice, one must recognize the historical context of Elizabethan England.  To truly evaluate the treatment of Othello as a “Moor”, his position in Venetian society, and his marriage to Desdemona, the play must be judged on the societal norms and current events that William Shakespeare had to draw from.

The English encounter with Africans began from about the mid-sixteenth century. Native West Africans had probably first appeared in London in 1554.  Certainly, as Martin Orkin points out in an article for The Shakespeare Quarterly, “by 1601 there were enough black men in London to prompt Elizabeth to express her discontent ‘at the great number of ‘Negars and blackamoors’ which are crept into the realm since the troubles between her highness and the King of Spain’ (Orkin).    Elizabethan adventurers John Hawkins, John Lok, and Martin Frobisher were among the first raiding African coastal villages, kidnapping inhabitants and bringing them back to England in the mid-1550s. Although initially a small population, these involuntary exiles were the forerunners of much larger numbers, who would eventually be enslaved in the Caribbean and the American colonies.   Blacks were a very visible minority in Shakespeare’s London.  Only recently have historians documented the proof of Africans in 17^th century London.  Initially brought in as slaves or as “human curiosities,” some blacks soon assimilated themselves into Elizabethan life as laborers and domestic servants.   Author James Shultz noted; “We now have documented proof of the residences of black people, which must be reckoned into the colors of Shakespeare’s world, in a very literal sense. Shakespeare knew people of color. He walked through their neighborhoods every day” (Shultz).  This author goes on to propose that the “dark lady” of the Sonnets was a black prostitute that William Shakespeare formed a relationship with.   Although an almost plausible solution to the issue, too many other pieces to this puzzle do not fit.

Shakespeare most certainly had contact with Africans living in London, but was this interaction tempered by the prevailing prejudices of his English countrymen? English ethnocentrism fastened upon differences in color, religion, and style of life. Orkin has assembled material that shows that Englishmen saw Sub Saharan Africans as barbarous.  He includes an excerpt from Richard Eden’s account of John Lok’s voyages, published first in 1554-55 and reprinted in 1589.  “An account of the inhabitants of ‘coast of Guinea and the middye partes of Africa’…were in olde tyme called Etheiopes and Nigrite wich we nowe caule moores, morren or Negroes.  A people of beastly lyvynge, without a god, lawe, religion or common welth, and so scorched and vexed with the heate of the sonne, that in many places they curse it when it ryseth” (Orkin).  In the OED the meaning of the word “black” includes, before the sixteenth century and were subject to the prejudices of the day.   Othello, being a General and of higher status than other blacks in both Venetian and English societies is Shakespeare’s way of breaking down these stereotypes.

The racial slurs and insults by Iago, as he says “…an old black ram is tupping your white ewe.” (O.I.1.88-89). Roderigo also makes racist comments referring to Othello as “the thick lips”(O.I.1.66).  There is racist sentiment within the play, but it is to a large degree it is confined to Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio.   The character of Othello does not lower himself to respond to these insults.   This highlighting of the injury of words by the “white” characters only strengthens Othello against the stereotypes of the day.  Looking at the character of Othello through the color prejudices of early 17^th century England further shows how Shakespeare was very progressive for his time period.

Research yields volumes of works about racism in Othello.  Evaluating the theme of racism by 20^th century thinking is valid only when the comparisons are tempered with an understanding of Elizabethan and Jacobean social norms.  Only then can one really see the true brilliance of Shakespeare’s portrayal of the Tragedy of Othello, the Moore of Venice.

Works Cited

Orkin, Martin.” Othello and the “plain face” Of Racism” Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Summer, 1987), pp. 166-188. 5 May 2010.web

Shultz, James. “Shakespeare’s Colors: Race And Culture In Elizabethan England“. Old Dominion University’s Quest. January 2002, Volume 5 Issue 1.8 May 2010.web.

Bartels, Emily C. “Making more of the Moor: Aaron, Othello, and Renaissance Refashioning of Race”. Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Winter, 1990), pp. 433-454. 8 May 2010.web

Bartels, Emily C. “Othello and Africa: Postcolonialism Reconsidered”. The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 54, No. 1 (Jan., 1997), pp. 45-64. 8 May 2010.web

Neill, Michael. “Mulattos,” “Blacks,” and “Indian Moors”: Othello and Early Modern Constructions of Human Difference”. Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Winter, 1998), pp. 361-374. 9 May 2010.web