Turley
English 10.7
10 June 2010
Othello: The Stereotypical Moor Shakespeare’s Othello continued stereotypes by portraying Othello, the Moor, as jealous and passionate. Othello was shown as jealous by his reaction to Desdemona, his wife, supposedly cheating. Desdemona is viewed as “the sweetest innocent [t]hat e’er did lift up eye” by most people who have known her (IIII. ii. 196-197). However, as soon as Iago suggests that she has been cheating, Othello starts to doubt her. He turns paranoid, and he reads into her every move. Furthermore, Othello jealously assumes the worst of every situation. For instance, Othello catches Bianca, Cassio’s lover, with his handkerchief (IIII. i. 134). He immediately believes that Cassio had given her the handkerchief he had gotten from Desdemona (IIII. i. 177-179). Othello then decides that Desdemona gave him the handkerchief because they were having an affair together (IIII. i. 177-179). For all he knew, Desdemona might’ve lost it, or Cassio might have stolen it. In this way, Shakespeare portrays Othello as judging rashly due to his jealousy. Even though there was not much substantial proof for Desdemona’s guilt, Othello’s jealousy overwhelms him. This jealousy is a standard characteristic of a Moor. By showing that Othello is jealous, Shakespeare perpetrates the stereotype for Moor. Shakespeare continues to support this stereotype in Othello by showing how passionate Othello is. Moors are considered to be aggressive and passionate. Othello shows this trait in two different but equally important ways. He loves Desdemona passionately, and he also kills her aggressively. In the former, Othello swears that he would have “the winds blow till they have wakened death” if he could have the joy of seeing Desdemona (II. i. 183-184). He never exchanges a harsh word with her, and showers her with affection (II. i. 192-198). Even Cassio, his captain, expects Othello’s love for Desdemona to “[g]ive renewed fire to our extincted spirits” (II. i. 80-81). Even though they do not know each other very well, Othello already loves Desdemona mostly because she pities him (I. iii. 167). This passionate love portrays Othello as a stereotypical Moor. Indeed, Othello is further cast as the standard Moor when he kills Desdemona. By this time, his passionate love for her has turned into passionate vengeance. However, it is still the same passion and aggression that stereotypical Moors would have. Like the stereotype, Othello violently smothers Desdemona until she dies (IIII. ii. 83). He also tries to have Cassio killed, swearing that he would “have [Cassio] nine years a-killing” (IIII. i. 180). His aggression towards both Desdemona and Cassio shows how violently passionate he is. This emphasizes the label of a Moor. All in all, Shakespeare continues the stereotype of a Moor in Othello. Othello judges Desdemona to be cheating quickly because he is completely jealous. In addition, he both loves and kills her passionately. Othello is shown to fit under the typecast of a Moor because he is jealous and passionate, two key traits of a Moor. Therefore, Shakespeare maintains this stereotype of Moors through Othello.
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