Nicoar Maria-Magdalena

IIIrd year, A, Group 1

Blackness in Othello

One of the most disputed plays of Shakespeare, Othello was probably performed for
the first time at Globe between 1601 and 1604 . Even though critics such as Thomas Rymer have
noticed the implausibility of its characterization and plotting 1, the play was highly appreciated
at Court where it was performed for the first time on I November 1604.(Neill 3) The play tackles
a wide variety of themes: racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, each of them receiving the accurate
attention both from the literary critics and the auditory . In this essay I aim at discussing
blackness in Othello with reference to Orson Welless and Oliver Parkers film.
In Othello, Black is used to define the heros descent: Othello is a Moor, a Negro,
one of African origin2. Even though, at the time Shakespeare wrote the play, the term Moor
might designate both North Africans and the Negroes from the African regions south of the
Sahara desert, or it could be applied to all Muslims, Iago and Roderigos insults indicate that
Shakespeare meant Othello as a black Moor. (Neill 45)
In the beginning of the play, Othello is introduced to the audience through their
conversation about him. The two characters does not mention his name but they constantly refer
to him as the Moor, which in Shakespeares time was a pejorative term. They portray Othello
by using animal imagery which hints at the the old belief that black people have more in
common with animals than with humans (Smith 1): In Act I, Scene I, Iago tells Barbantio,
Desdemonas father : youll have your daughter coverd with a Barbary horse/ Youll have your
nephews neigh to you (Shakespeare 123-124). He emphasizes the opposition between
Desdemonas origin (she is a young Venetian) and Othellos lineage through the following
statement: Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/ Is topping your white ewe
(Shakespeare 97-98).
1 Neill, Michael (ed). Othello, the Moor of Venice, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 3.
Print.
2 Adler, Doris. The Rhetoric of Black and White in Othello. Folger Shakespeare
Library, 248-249. Web. 15 Nov 2015.

Nicoar Maria-Magdalena
IIIrd year, A, Group 1

The film directed by Orson Welles does not preserve all the lines from this scene, more
precisely, the director chooses to leave aside those lines which contain animal imagery. Another
significant difference between the play and the book is that, while, in Shakespeares work,
Othello is absent from the first scene, in the film he appears togheter with Desdemona in a
gondola, even though the public cannot see his face, as he is filmed from behind. Othellos face
is revealed for the first time in the Senate scene where he is presented as a relatively lightskinned African. Moreoves, the color of his skin becomes incresingly lighter as he explains the
means by which he managed to gain Desdemonas love. At the same time, Othellos discourse in
the Senate reveals his true identity: he is a civilized and respected commander rather than a
barbarian, as he was portrayed by his ensign in the beginning of the play.
Unlike in the film directed by Orson Welles, in Oliver Parkers film, Othello is present
from the very beginning. His face is revealed for the first time in the scene in which he marries
Desdemona, scene which cannot be found in Shakespeares play. Parkers Othello is also a lightskinned African, but the opposition between him and his wife, Desdemona, is very clear in the
moment in which he puts the wedding ring on her finger. At the same time, Parker preserves
most of the lines from Act I, Scene I, through which Roderigo and Iago portray Othello as a
barbarian. In creating the Senate scene, Parker uses a more modern technique and instead of
lightening Othellos skin while he utters his discourse, the director stages his account about
Desdemonas wooing.
In Act I, Scene II can be found another evidence of Othellos cultivation which changes
the perception of the auditory upon him. After he finds out about Desdemonas elopement,
Barbantio together with his people look for Othello in order to confont him, but the fight is
avoided due to Othellos wisdom. He understands that violence is not a solution for his situation
and chooses comunication over it, telling them: Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will
rust them./ Good signior, you shall more command with years/ Than with your
weapons.(Shakespeare) This scene is also preserved by both Orson Welles and Oliver Parker in
their films, as it is relevant for defining Othellos personality.
To sum it up, through Othellos portrayal (he is a responsible commander who is
accustomed with all the conventions of the Venetian society), Shakespeares play manages to
destroy the myth that black people are naturally savage and uncultivated. Thus, racism becomes

Nicoar Maria-Magdalena
IIIrd year, A, Group 1

a sub-theme of the play, the interracial love affair [being] at the centre of the action (Neill 1).
Othello is an accurate image of the daily life of all times, suggesting that love and jealousy are
common to human nature, irrespective of race, ethnicity, education or social status.
Work Cited:
Primary Source:
Shakespeare, William. Othello, the Moor of Venice. 7 Nov 2015. Web. <
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/othello/full.html>
Secundary Sources:
Adler, Doris. The Rhetoric of Black and White in Othello. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Web. 15 Nov 2015. <http://wikidshakespeare.pbworks.com/f/the%20rhetoric%20of
%20black%20and%20white%20in%20othello.pdf>
Neill, Michael (ed). Othello, the Moor of Venice, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Print.
Smith, Nicole. Perceptions of Race in Othello by Shakespeare. Dec 6, 2011. Web. 07 Nov
2015. <http://www.articlemyriad.com/perceptions-race-othello-shakespeare/>