In Shakespeare’s play Othello, lightness and darkness are, among other things, juxtaposed under the context of race. For example, in lines 87-88 Iago says, “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!” While referring to Othello as the uncastrated male sheep and Desdemona as the female sheep, Iago not only points out the difference in race by using adjectives like “black” and “white,” but he also insinuates that Othello is old and perverted and Desdemona is young and pure. In the last act of the play, Othello makes another racial reference as he’s contemplating whether or not he should kill Desdemona. He says, “Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,” (V.ii.5). In these two passages, lightness and darkness are used to express differences in race and the stereotypes that come with race: a lustful black man and a pure white woman.
To continue with racial references, in Act 1 the Duke implies that being white is beautiful, while being black is ugly. After Othello and Desdemona have both professed their love for each other, the Duke says to Barbantio, “And, noble signor, / If virtue no delighted beauty lack, / Your son-in-law is far more fair than black.” (I.iii.288-290). Here it is obvious that the Duke intends to compliment Othello by saying that he is virtuous. On the other hand, the Duke is saying that in order to be attractive, Othello must be white.
With this in mind, it is easy to see how Shakespeare used race to take advantage of the stereotypes that his audience already had in mind. Obviously his audience did not expect good things from a black man, so the fact that Othello started out as virtuous and courageous seems a little bit off. Yet, it all makes sense when Othello is driven mad with jealousy. Considering that Shakespeare’s audience was completely racist, the end of the play may have actually seemed predictable rather than tragic.
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