Race

RACE

Othello is of a different race from his wife and all the other main characters, he being a black Moor and they white Venetians, except Cassio who is from Florence. The hero is alien to the other players. He is an imposing man much respected due to his vast experience maintaining the security of the Venetian Empire. The Duke of Venice depends greatly on Othello and when the crisis over Cyprus arises, Othello is the first to be called upon to take control of Cyprus and oppose the Turkish fleet. He is a brilliant military tactician and his previous successful campaigns have emphasized his honorable character. The charismatic Moor wins the love of Desdemona; his magnetism is greater than the conventions of marrying within one’s race.

Shakespeare is at pains to show Othello as an intelligent, masculine soldier who captivates Desdemona who shows great courage in eloping with him. What precisely Shakespeare’s views were on mixed marriages is left to the audience to decide.

At the start of the plot, the Jacobean public may have been shocked at this union between the black