Social And Religious Context Of Shakespeare's Othello

As with many of William Shakespeare’s plays, Othello reflects the social and religious context of the time. From the 11th -15th century, Spain underwent an intense reconversion to Catholicism. King Philip III of Spain decreed that all those who affirmed to be of another faith would be expelled from Spain. While many of other faiths began to convert to Catholicism, suspicions rose against these new “Moriscos” –the term the Spaniards used to describe Muslim convert to Catholicism. Moreover, during Shakespeare’s time in England, the views on “Moors” –their term to describe not only Islamic Arabs but also Islamic Africans and largely anyone of a darker skin color –while not as hostile nonetheless proved infused by prejudice and racism. Furthermore,
Through the disparaging views of the other Venetian characters towards Othello, Shakespeare highlights the prejudice against Moors and “others,” which ultimately leads to Othello’s downfall. Othello’s status as Moor intrinsically affects how the other characters perceive and treat Othello. Through Othello has both converted to Christianity and achieved prominence as a general in the Venetian army, he is nonetheless still treated as a stranger, representing the “other” that will never fully be accepted by Venetian society. His rejection by Venetian society –resulting only because of his race and skin color, his “Moorishness” –is demonstrated through the prejudice other characters have against him. Namely, through characters like Brabantio, Desdemona’s father; Iago, a manipulative officer in the Venetian army who feels slighted by Othello; and Roderigo, Desdemona’s rejected suitor who becomes one of Iago’s greatest allies in trying to ruin Othello. These three characters each demonstrate the key role Othello’s status as Moor plays in how others perceive and treat him. All three characters use disparaging racial descriptions when refers to Othello to denigrate him as somehow being lesser because he is a
He allows his self-doubt and insecurities to blind him and persuade him to doubt Desdemona. Though Desdemona vehemently pleads her innocence to Othello and ultimately, with her final breathes, attempts to expunge his guilt by telling Emilia that she has smothered herself, Othello nonetheless doubts her love for him (606). Emilia eventually explains Iago’s cunning and unravels all of his lies to Othello. He then realizes how he was driven by jealousy and self-doubt and acted rashly. Encumbered by his guilt at erroneously murdering his faithful wife, he prepares to kill himself and tells a story, saying, “ …in Aleppo once, where a malignant and turbaned Turk beat a Venetian…I took by th’throat the circumcised dog and smote him, thus” (612). In this his final scene, Othello parallels himself to this “malignant and turbaned Turk”. By seeing himself both as the Turk –the “Other” –and the dutiful soldier who avenges the Venetian, Othello reveals how harmed his own perception of self was by his status of Moor. He refers to himself in the same disparaging manner that other characters would use to refer to him: he calls this Turk a “circumcised dog,” in reference to how Christians do not practice circumcision. Moreover, his status of Moor and the negative perception this creates of him for the other characters affects how Othello views himself,