An Analysis of Racism and Gender's Impact in Shakespeare's Othello

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello, focusing on the prominent themes of racism and gender. It examines how racial and gender assumptions contribute to the downfall of the central characters, particularly Othello and Desdemona. The essay argues that racism, as a reflection of the Elizabethan societal context, plays a more significant role in shaping the play's tragic ending than gender issues, though both are crucial. The essay explores the portrayal of Othello as a Moor, highlighting the racial prejudices and discrimination he faces, and how these factors influence his actions and relationships. The role of language in perpetuating racism and the social and political factors that influence the play's outcome are also discussed. Furthermore, the essay examines the gender conflicts, jealousy, and deception that contribute to the play's tragic outcome. The essay explores the themes of jealousy, deception, and the impact of social, cultural, and political factors on the characters' lives, ultimately arguing that Othello's downfall is largely determined by the racism he experiences.

Running head: ENGLISH LITERATURE
English Literature
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ENGLISH LITERATURE
Othello is one of the most celebrated tragic plays written by William Shakespeare. This is
considered as one of the best along with other three great tragedies Macbeth, Hamlet and King
Lear. The ending of the play Othello is really tragic where he goes on to kill his beloved wife by
suspicions. The suspicions finally came to be identified as false one. In this course, the readers
have found some important themes in this play. The probable important themes in this play are
race and gender. Both these themes have been equally important for the structuring and overall
plot of the play. The married life of Desdemona and Othello had been completely ruined because
of the racial and gender assumptions (Smith: 104). Still in order to compare between these two
themes and their impacts on the ending of the play, it can be said that racism has been the most
powerful one. The portrayal of the character of Othello had been such a way by the playwright
William Shakespeare that he had been deprived of the social status as other Europeans enjoyed
in the contemporary Elizabethan society (Shakespeare: 18). So, the assumption of race is thought
to be the most crucial factor for the ending of the play.
Racism has been a very important factor in the lives of people in the older times. Still, it
has been considered as having serious impact on the lifestyles of the people. In the contemporary
Elizabethan society, the racist considerations had been quite impactful. Othello had been
introduced as a moor as per the descriptions of William Shakespeare. Also he was the only black
skinned person in the entire play. The concept of inferiority had been in his mind about the
surrounding society from the beginning (Smith: 104). Though, he ws full of confidence when he
was courting Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio. In the descriptions of the playwright,
Othello is depicted as a very brave and successful solider and he was a reputable nobleman of
Venice as well (Nachit,: 97). He was appreciated by everyone in the court for his valor. This play

2ENGLISH LITERATURE
is definitely a tragedy occurring because of the racial conflicts and the end results coming in the
likes of death of the central characters of the play.
Critics have highlighted both the racial issues and gender issues having an equal impact
on the final outcome of the play. The racial prejudices have always been important factors for the
negative impacts in the minds of people. Here Othello is a moor and his skin color is black. It is
quite evident that his rights have been ignored and many powerful people in the contemporary
society. The gender conflicts between Othello, Desdemona and Cassio comes much later. The
impacts of racial abuses have been regarded as quite instrumental in defining the fate of the
entire play (Shakespeare: 18). He is respected throughout for his valor in the army and he gives
his best efforts for the country. Thus his service becomes very integral and he is sent on different
missions. The role of language in the context of racism is very crucial from all the aspects. The
racial prejudices and discrimination within the society can be shown best by the use of language
instead of the physical activities. Critics have opined that use of language and racism goes hand
in hand so Othello has been the victim of the racism many times as well (Nachit,: 97).
“Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe, Arise, Arise!
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,
Or else the devil make a grandsire of you
Arise, I say!” (1.1.97-101).
The otherness of Othello within the play has been shown in the play verbalizing the
words like ‘moor’ and ‘black’. The play begins and the racial attributions are found. This can be

3ENGLISH LITERATURE
located in the very first act of the play where Othello is described through the terms like ‘thick-
lips’ and ‘an old black ram’ (Abuzahra: 189). The name of Othello comes after the use of these
terms. These terms have been used by the people working under him. It is really surprising and
disrespectful at the same time as well. Iago was one of the plotters who made reports to
Brabantio about the ongoing relationship between Othello and Dsdemona. He even went to
Brabantio and told “Even now, very now, an old black ram/ Is tupping your white ewe” (Grady:
68). This is why the racial perspectives are very much present in the overall growth of the play.
This way of description is very much full of poison from all the perspectives. Here the gender
issues also come into play where the daughter’s infidelity to father is regarded as a crime indeed
(Nachit,: 97). Readers get to understand the fact that Othello is not at all peace because of his
black skin color. He continuously suffers from the inferiority. This has been quite problematic
for him from various points of views (Abuzahra: 189). Brabantio also calls Othello a black Moor
and he does not consent the marriage between his daughter Desdemona and Othello.
“The last thing Pa and Big Ma wanted to hear was how we made a grand Negro spectacle of
ourselves”
The downfall of Othello is one of the most intriguing outcomes in the play and many
other themes have been explored here as well. These themes are of jealousy by Iago, deception
and gender issues (Olson: 18). The gender complications have been shown in the play and it is
definitely one of the deciding factors of the play. The factors that are crucial for this kind of
outcome are the social, cultural and cultural ambience of the country. According to the social
conditions of that time, racial factors are the most necessary reasons for the feeling of insecurity
among Othello. Othello becomes insecure and he is very much doubtful about the character of
her wife Desdemona. In his lifetime and situation faced by Othello, he comes face to face with

4ENGLISH LITERATURE
several situations that could be deemed as very unfortunate (Grady: 68). He goes through bad
times and learns numerous things about the society. Apart from that, Othello finds out the racial
dominance in the society since he confronts the different social values and ideas within the
society. All these ideas played a very crucial role in determining the final outcome of the play
(Erickson: 175). The sociopolitical factor has definitely played a huge role here.
“I am the one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter
And the Moor are nowmaking the beast with two backs” (1.1. 129-131).
The drama took place during a time when Christianity was basically the most dominant
religion in the continent of Europe (Olson: 18). As for its roots, Christianity is definitely not a
racist religion but this religion has been used to create such situations through which Othello had
been insulted and reminded that he is an inferior in front of the people surrounding him (Grady:
68). It symbolized all the royals and aristocrats of the contemporary Venice. Still this fact has
contradictions as some critics have found out the differences. The Duke of Venice said Othello to
be a man full of virtue despite he is black (Chapma: 22). So, he could be considered among the
white people in the society. He was brave and he served the country in many occasions. This
highlight the fact black people in the society are mostly sinful and without any value (Chapma:
22). So, Othello was not among those people and he was definitely an exception. This kind of
statement had been delivered by the Duke of Venice to ensure Brabantio about the goodness of
Othello (Erickson: 175). It is because Brabantio never approved the fact from his heart that
Othello married his daughter, the beautiful Desdemona. Brabantio was quite sure that Othello
had managed his daughter by ignoring all the laws of nature. The beliefs about racism were so
strong that Othello was suspected of using witchcraft to daughter of Brabantio (Albanese: 247).

5ENGLISH LITERATURE
This might be during the fact Brabantio was of the opinion that the meaning of black of evil
nature and white always meant purity. This is why he always gave priority to white over the
black (Chambers: 20). This was one of the lessons that Othello learnt during his life. This lesson
was there in his mind all his life and his actions could be the reflections of these events.
“….Your daughter covered with a Barbary horse,
You’ll have your nephews neigh to you
You’ll have coursers for cousins and jennets for germans”
Brabantio also suspected that Othello was depraved and he would make Desdemona in
such a condition. Othello could absorb all the purity of Desdemona and turn her into the similar
situation. Othello was the black ‘Moor’ and this was probably the one reason as to why he should
not enjoy all the facilities that everyone could have access to. It is quite apparent that race has
determined the fates of lives of Othello in a large way. Race has always been a dominating factor
in the society and it went on to the level of barbarism in Othello. Throughout the whole play, the
only good friend that Othello came across was Cassio (Albanese: 247). Othello was very stern
and he was not that much adept at controlling the misunderstandings that arose between him and
Desdemona after their marriage. Cassio was a very smart and handsome person and Othello
trusted him very much (Chambers: 20). Due to this trust, he gave the responsibility to Cassio to
persuade Desdemona in those situations. Cassio always kept his request and acted as a go
between Othello and Desdemona. On the other hand, Othello was unable to recognize the nature
of the people. He believed Iago as well and was convinced by his sweet words (Albanese: 247).
He was not at all about the intentions of Iago. The situation went to this extent that Othello was
completely betrayed by Iago and he thought Cassio to be the betrayer. These misconceptions

6ENGLISH LITERATURE
were very much harmful for the smooth flow of the play. The outcomes of being black became
very explicit as the plot of the play progressed (Hedrick: 649).
Othello was quite aware in his subconscious mind that he would not be able to survive in
the society of Venice after his marriage with Desdemona. All the people in Venice went against
him and they believed that Othello must have used some witchcraft to such kind of wonders like
wooing Desdemona. The reality was not at all like that. Before the beginning of his courtship
with Desdemona, he was a very good storyteller and he used to tell of all the adventures he had
experienced in his battles. Duke heard all the incidents but did not give him any punishment
because he knew they would need Othello in the emergency conditions in Cyprus (Hedrick:
649). Though Othello fled with Desdemona, he was saved because of his contribution to the
country as a soldier. Iago took this opportunity when he learned about the fact there would no
war. He plotted the situation very smartly and planned his activities with the help of his wife
(Toker: 28). He had served his country with all his valor and might. Still he did not get the
deserved respect.
“To fall in love with what she feared to look on!
Against all rules of nature” (1.1).
People in Venice were more concerned with the fact that she had married with a black
man. This was more important than the fact that she had eloped with the man and that marriage
had been done secretly (Hedrick: 649). It might suggest the fact that people and courtiers of
Venice would not have questioned that marriage if it was done with a white man. Skin color was
the ultimate deciding factor in getting respect. Thus, the skin color was a very crucial factor in

7ENGLISH LITERATURE
the society (Toker: 28). Brabantio did not see his daughter’s fault in the fact that she had escaped
with him. Here in this discourse, the lines from the play can be quoted:
“O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow’d my daughter?
Damn’d as thou art, thou hast enchanted her;” (Abuzahra: 189).
These two lines depict the fact that blackness of Othello was behind all the events that
had taken place during the development of the plots. She even said that the psychical appearance
of Othello was not able to impress her. Here Othello knew that the entire Venice would go
against him still he took that step. On the other hand, it is not at all a fault if the aspects of love
and affection are being highlighted (Makonnen: 350). He should have been aware that people in
power in Venice did not like him because of his skin color and him being a Moor. So, he should
have stayed away from all these emotional things. He was alone and suspected his very trusted
friend Cassio from the middle of the play (Marcus: 140). Thus, he got completely alone and was
trapped by Iago. Thus racial implications had been far more crucial in the course of the play
rather than gender issues.
In the concluding section, it can be said that Othello is definitely one of the most well
known tragic plays ever written in the English literature. Shakespeare was a master craftsman of
words and he was aware of the human psychology very much. He plotted the entire play from the
contemporary social viewpoints. Thus, the characters of the play have represented the society.
The concept of racism has been very much evident in the contemporary society so the overall
impact of racism could be felt through the loss of lives at the ending of the play. Othello might
have been a valiant soldier and he had contributed a lot for the country, still his identity if being a
Moor could not be overlooked by the powerful people of the society. There have been gender

8ENGLISH LITERATURE
assumptions in the entire play but the racial assumptions in the play proved to be the dominant
factor. Thus, the tragic outcomes of the play were the results of the racial implications within the
society.

9ENGLISH LITERATURE
References and Bibliography
Abuzahra, Nimer, and Rami Salahat. "Analyzing Iago’s Speech in Shakespeare’s
Othello." Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics 2.2
(2018): 185-203.
Albanese, Denise. "Black and White, and Dread All Over: The Shakespeare Theatre’s
“Photonegative” Othello and the Body of Desdemona." A Feminist Companion to
Shakespeare (2016): 244-265.
Boyer, Arlynda. "The other interracial marriage in Othello." Shakespeare 11.2 (2015): 178-200.
Chambers, Claire Gail. "‘“To Love the Moor”: Postcolonial Artists Write Back to Shakespeare’s
Othello." Postcolonial Interventions: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Postcolonial
Studies (2016): 1-39.
Chapman, Matthieu. Anti-Black racism in early modern English drama: The other “other”.
Routledge, 2016.
Erickson, Peter. "Race Words in Othello." Shakespeare and Immigration. Routledge, 2016. 169-
186.
Grady, Kyle. "Othello, Colin Powell, and Post-Racial Anachronisms." Shakespeare
Quarterly 67.1 (2016): 68-83.
Hedrick, Donald. "Distracting Othello: Tragedy and the Rise of Magic." PMLA 129.4 (2014):
649-671.
Makonnen, Atesede. "“Our Blackamoor or Negro Othello”: Rejecting the Affective Power of
Blackness." European Romantic Review 29.3 (2018): 347-355.

10ENGLISH LITERATURE
Marcus, Leah S. "Constructions of Race and Gender in the Two Texts of Othello." Rethinking
Feminism in Early Modern Studies. Routledge, 2016. 129-148.
Nachit, Mohssine. "Shakespeare's Othello and the Challenges of Multiculturalism." Arab World
English Journal (AWEJ), Special Issue on Literature 4 (2016): 97-107.
Novy, Marianne. Love's Argument: Gender Relations in Shakespeare. UNC Press Books, 2017.
Olson, Rebecca. "" Too Gentle": Jealousy and Class in Othello." Journal for Early Modern
Cultural Studies 15.1 (2015): 3-25.
Orlin, Lena Cowen, ed. Othello: the state of play. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
Shakespeare, William. othello. Vol. 6. Classic Books Company, 2001.
Smith, Ian. "We are othello: speaking of race in early modern studies." Shakespeare
Quarterly 67.1 (2016): 104-124.
TOKER, Alpaslan. "OTHELLO: ALIEN IN VENICE." Journal of Academic Studies 15.60
(2014).
Warner, Lawrence. "Desdemona’s Wooing: Towards a Pre-1538 Othello." Word and Self
Estranged in English Texts, 1550–1660. Routledge, 2016. 133-146.