Racism in Othello

There are several debates that discuss whether or not Othello is a racist play and if Shakespeare himself was indeed a racist. Of course one cannot make a definitive conclusion on the matter but there are various indications that point towards another direction.

Othello, being one of the main characters in the play, is a black man who is often referred to as “the Moor” by characters that are most likely to be disliked, such as Iago and Brabantio as earlier mentioned. Brabantio does also not quite acknowledge Othello and Desdemona’s marriage with the sole purpose being that Othello is black and that it is unnatural for a white woman such as his daughter to fall in love with someone that is black for reasons unknown. The two of them can be considered to be a tad bit racist but that is not equivalent to Shakespeare being racist as you cannot equate the author with all his characters. Shakespeare on the contrary is actually evoking anger directed towards the two characters with the way he chooses to portray them. First of all, he lets the Duke of Venice approve and therefore proceed with Othello and Desdemona’s marriage which can be interpreted as Shakespeare seeing no issue with interracial relationships. Furthermore, he makes Iago the antagonist of the play and Othello the protagonist which makes the audience sympathize with Othello rather than Iago which is very significant to mention in the debate. If the roles were to be reversed, the outcome would be different but Shakespeare choosing intentionally the black man to play Othello can be viewed as Shakespeare sympathizing with the minorities.