Literature

Writing Assignment # 1

Question # 1

In the play, Othello was referred as the one with dark colored skin by many characters. Brabantio, who was the father of Desdemona was furious when he came to know that his daughter was meeting Othello behind his back. The other characters referred to him in a racist way behind his back, however Brabantio was the one who talked on his face and called him a moor, which meant black-skinned Arab from North Africa. One of the comments that were used by him for Othello was “sooty bosom” (1.2.89). This was because Brabantio was at a higher rank than Othello, and he dislikes him. Racist ideas are also placed by Iago and his race has been constantly mentioned in the play and he referred to the relationship between Othello and Desdemona to Brabantio, which is evident in the quote, “Even now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” (1.1.97). It is because of the skin color that Brabantio does not want his daughter to fall in love with Othello. He also believes that Othello uses magic spells and charts to mesmerize his daughter (Shakespeare, pp.1). Even without the influence of Iago, I believe that Brabantio would be racist and this is because color is the only thing that he can hate about Othello.

Question # 2

In 1601, Queen Elizabeth issued an edict according to which the Africans had to be expelled from the country. During the era of Elizabeth, the Africans lived in fear and the function of the Africans in the society during the 16th century was in three ways. These included household servants, prostitutes and court entertainers. Moors were the people who belonged to ancient Morocco and pertained to people from Africa. During Shakespeare's time, Moors became very complex, and this was because they carried signs of many cultural traditions. It was believed by the Shakespearian experts that Othello was Oriental, and during the time of Elizabeth, the Moors and Negros were not made distinct which meant that both were treated in the same manner. In the play, Othello was referred as a Moor, however during Shakespeare's time; this term was also used for the Arabs, Berbers, Syrians and Negroes. Therefore, the attitude of the Europeans towards the blacks during this time was not very favorable. This is most evident when Brabantio degrades him by referring him as “sooty bosom” (1.2.89).

Question # 3

In the play, Iago is an opponent who is against Othello. There were some other heroes in the play who were fooled by him. However, if we talk about some of the other heroes, their responses would be different towards Iago.

King Arthur would not have been fooled by Iago because he was an intelligent man and he had the capability to make his own judgments. Therefore, he would not have been fooled with regards to the character of Othello that has been portrayed by Iago. He would have handled the situation by putting Iago in prison for ...