Othello

Othello is a story of black and white. Perhaps black versus white would be more accurate. This battle takes place on two different levels. The two characters whose dislike of Othello are simply racist (Roderigo and Brabantio) are shown to be foolish.There is the battle of good versus evil. That always is seen as black versus white. Yet, this is also a personal battle, of a white man and a black man. Shakespeare’s twist of fate is that he has made the good represented by black, and evil represented by white. Whether it be simply irony, or an attempt on Shakespeare to make a political statement about race, you are constantly reminded of this one decision consistently throughout the story of Othello.

A man of African heritage is typically portrayed in Elizabethan literature in a negative light, yet is allowed to shine in Othello. From the onset of this story, Othello is depicted as a true hero. He is a great general and a great man. Like any Elizabethan hero, he is flawed; his nobility and honesty permits Iago to use his deceitful ways. Whereas a black person would normally be used in Elizabethan literature to represent the darkness, Iago’s absolute evil takes on that role. One idea that does not change is the idea of purity. Desdemona represents purity in its truest form; a young beautiful white female.

The play opens with Iago proclaiming his hatred for Othello. Iago has been passed up for a promotion, which went to a less experienced man. Othello, whom is Iago’s master has made this decision, which Iago obviously does not agree with.

This seems to be the only reason for Iago to detest Othello, but his anger stretches beyond this into personal attacks. Iago refers to Othello’s "thick-lips" (I.i.66) and to him as "an old black ram" (I.i.88-89). His hatred may have started on a professional level, but in part due to Othello’s heritage, Iago’s contempt quickly deteriorates to racism. This brings about a reoccurring paradox in Othello. While an extremely powerful man in a political context, his race makes him inferior in a white man’s society. Iago is able to trick his master and manipulate him on a consistent basis.

Since Iago has no real foundation for this hatred, he needs to invent new reasons to hate Othello. He forms the idea in his own mind that Othello is sleeping with his wife. While this is obviously untrue, it helps give Iago a reason to despise Othello for other than the color of his skin. His anger is quite obvious when he lashes out with the statement "hell and night / must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light" (I.iii.397-98). Not only does this outburst show Iago’s contempt for Othello, it clearly shows the ironic switching of color once again. He refers to himself as hell and night, while Othello is the world’s light.

Iago’s evil plan to destroy