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Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. Iago’s undisguised racism and hatred for Othello emerge once more, as he tries to convince Roderigo that Desdemona will soon tire of her black devil husband. When she has her sexual fill of Othello, he predicts that she will seek another sexual partner.
Iago uses racist slurs when he wakens Brabantio with the news that his daughter, Desdemona (a white Venetian), has eloped with Othello (an older, black man). When Iago says an "old black ram" (Othello) is "tupping" (sleeping with) Brabantio's "white ewe" (Desdemona), he plays on Elizabethan notions that black men have an animal-like, ...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the quotes talking about Race in Othello, written by experts just for you.
These quotes capture key moments in the play, reflecting its central themes of jealousy, manipulation, racism, honour, and love. Each quote reveals the complexity of the characters and their motivations, deepening the tragedy as Othello spirals towards his inevitable downfall.
The most prominent form of prejudice on display in Othello is racial prejudice. In the very first scene, Roderigo and Iago disparage Othello in explicitly racial terms, calling him, among other things, "Barbary horse" and "thick lips."
In Othello, Shakespeare presents racial prejudice through the marginalization and self-doubt experienced by Othello, who is depicted as an outsider due to his race. Racist language and...
When Othello kills Desdemona, he enacts a racist stereotype – that black men are violent, savage, and to be feared. Does this make the play and/or Shakespeare racist? Or, is there a more complex idea at work in the play?
