"Shakespeare plays with us throughout Othello, exploiting stereotypes, arousing expectations, alternatively fulfilling and frustrating preconceptions ... I think this play is racist, and I think it is not." Do you agree with this statement on Shakespeare's Othello?

 

I firmly believe that William Shakespeare in Othello plays with his audience by exploiting stereotypes, arousing expectations which he alternatively fulfils and frustrates. In my answer I would be looking at how Shakespeare had played with his audience by exploiting stereotypes, arousing our expectations, fulfilling our biases only to frustrate us in the next breath. In conclusion I would briefly look at to what end the playwright does that.

Looking at the stereotypes employed by the playwright, black vs. white, European vs. Non-European, Christian vs. pagan, and civilized Renaissance world vs. Cyprus and the world of the barbarians. Through the way the playwright handles these binaries one gets the idea that Shakespeare supports one or the other at different times in the course of the play. When one looks at the way he handles binaries such as black vs. white, European vs. non-European, Christian vs. Pagan and the civilized Renaissance Venice vs. Cyprus and other places occupied by the “Turks,” one gets the impression that at a certain point the playwright is racist only to be immediately corrected. It must be kept in mind that being a tragedy, Othello is the tragic hero of the play. By making a non-European newly converted black man the tragic hero of his play which is subtitled the Moor of Venice, Shakespeare announces his bias towards Othello. By virtue of being the tragic hero, Othello is a great man. Despite his greatness he has a tragic flaw that causes his down fall. However, a tragedy requires a tragic hero to recognize his flaw and reverse his course. This happens in Othello as well. Consequently, Othello who dies following the tragic conventions dies a restored hero.    

In Act I Roderigo, Iago and Brabantiao describe Othello in a deprecating manner. According to them his colour seems to predispose him to pride, irrationality, practice of witch craft and sexual promiscuity. However, Othello whom we meet dashes all such allegations through the very nobility of his words bearing and actions: “”.  He appears the very embodiment of reason and dignity, a fitting mate to Desdemona, a flower of Venetian womanhood despite the differences in “years, of country, credit and everything”.  It is from this height Othello descends to the very depth of irrationality and shame as a result of his overweening sense of selfhood and the resulting jealousy. Once he gives into his internal demons, he becomes epileptic, uses indecent language to address his bride, strikes her in front of her countrymen and relatives, spies on his wife, questions female servants, and plots murder. But even at this point the playwright is careful to hint at his simplicity of spirit and his inner torment which go a long way to justify what he does.  When he realizes he was wrong, Othello was more sever on himself than he was on his victims. Shakespeare allows Othello a beautiful parting speech before he kills the “Turk” in himself.

The characters that act as foils for Othello are people like Roderigo, Iago, Brabantio and Cassio. Shakespeare presents Roderigo, a Venetian as a weak immoral character who is easily gulled by Iago. Brabantio was someone who is equal in stature to the Duke of Venice, but he despite his age and social standing has to be cautioned to act with dignity and reason by Othello. Looking at Iago, he is a good soldier, witty, smart and intelligent – he has all the qualities that should have elevated him to the status of a Renaissance man and a hero. However, irrational vendetta and amorality makes him no better than a beast and he is going to die a beastly death.  It is his punishment for corrupting the simple trusting soul of Othello and causing so much pain and death. Lastly, Cassio, is a mathematician and a ladies’ man. He is handsome and articulate. His manners are impeccable. Still, he considers Othello to be superior to him and acts as a go-between in the early stages of Othello’s relationship with Desdemona. In addition, he has a character flaw: he is unable to hold his liqueur. He has a weak will that can be influenced by someone like Iago just like Othello. In Othello’s case that could be excused due to his upbringing. Cassio does not have that excuse.  Once intoxicated Cassio behave irrationally and threatens social stability. Othello had to intervene to restore order.

In the play, Shakespeare seems to suggest Venice to be the seat of reason, good governance and civilized behaviour. In contrast, the world from which Othello comes is populated by pirates, Anthropophagi, cannibals, sibyls and handkerchiefs charmed with maiden blood. Both Othello and the Turks are from outside the civilization as the West knew it – no rules, no institutions – Othello takes the law into his own hands, the success of a marriage depended on witch craft. However, both Othello and the Turks are identifiable threats that could be easily defused because they are upfront about their intentions.  Cypress is an in between space. Initial observations may point to Shakespeare privileging Venice/ Europe over the non-European world as well as the in between space symbolized by Cypress. But a close analysis shows that true evil stems from Venice in the form of Iago and Roderigo  and corrupts the noble savage in Othello.

Cypress may be an in between place with budding institutions that need careful nurturing as Othello had pointed out in relation to Cassio’s fight with Roderigo.                               

In conclusion, there is no doubt that Shakespeare makes use of stereotypes in order to arouse his audience’s expectations which he alternatively fulfils and frustrates.

In my view, Shakespeare uses this technique in order to keep his audience engaged in the plot. The audience cannot miss a word or take a character for granted – the characters are dynamic and rounded as s result of constantly challenging stereotypes. By frustrating the audiences’ expectations the playwright adds depth to the plot of his play.