[Work: Othello, William Shakespeare, 1603]
Antagonism in Othello:

Subversive and Progressive Racial Attitudes in the Characters of Shakepeare’s Othello

 

Introduction:

The development of interpreting William Shakespeare’s plays for their progressive capabilities has been increasingly common in the modern era; Shylock, the Jewish character in The Merchant of Venice, portrayed on-stage for hundreds of years as a remorseless villain, is today played as a sympathetic and often ironic character whose persecuting is often shown to be more-or-less on-par with his persecution.

Similarly, the Othello seen in modern productions of Othello is a sympathetic tragic hero, rather than a dangerous, violent, and easily manipulated caricature. Yet, while some ambiguity about the nature of the character of Othello is inherent to the text, and even in keeping with the academic sentiment that the interpretation of art is more reflective of the morality of the reader than of any ‘opinions’ one may find in the work, Othello seems to contain a far more progressive element than The Merchant of Venice—in its antagonist, who in Othello is (of course) not Othello but Iago.

The character of Iago is unambiguously the antagonist of the play, and, beyond this, serves as both the catalyst to the events of the play and as the detractor or destroyer, either directly or by extension, of every character who falls in the play. In Othello, the title character does superficially seem to affirm racial stereotypes contemporary with Shakespeare’s writing (in particular, the alleged quick temper or ‘hot blood’ of Moors)—but the actual characters and actions of both Iago and Othello, arguably moreso, challenge them.

Character Depictions in Othello‘s Opening Scene:

Granting that the play contains both racial stereotypes and blatantly racist dialogue, the presentation of Othello nevertheless belies as contrived any relationship between his race and his conflicts. In the opening scene of the play, Roderigo and Iago profess their distaste for Othello and his success in bitter, racialized terms, as though to establish a societal context wherein that were sufficient reason for dislike (I.i.54-55,63-64).

In most of Shakespeare’s plays, there is a deliberate setting of tone in the opening scene, whether that be the interrogative and mysterious first scene of Hamlet or the quarreling first scene of Romeo and Juliet; this scene is no different.

The characters step onto the stage and immediately begin spewing bile at this other unseen character, as though to establish a tone of hostility and vengeful intent. Yet this negativity, and all the negative talk of Othello, still comes to present the man as having been promoted to a high office and having secured a beautiful wife.

Othello first page - William Shakespeare - Iago, raceThe extremity of the baseless—or else, at this point, seemingly race-based—hatred provides insight about the two characters having the conversation at least as much as the one discussed. And these sentiments of the vicious Iago versus the respected Othello are underscored as the act continues.

The line which introduces Othello into the company of noblemen and senators reads, “Here comes Brabantio and the valiant Moor” (I.iii.47). The senators present go on to depict Othello as “brave,” “capable,” and again “valiant;” between this praise and the speech by Othello and Desdemona removing any legitimate complaint against the man, one leaves the third scene with a very positive image of the character.

By coming from a scene of utter hostility towards him, and then at length proving this hostility unfounded, Shakespeare subverts what may have been a negative predisposition in the audience toward a black character (or towards a ‘hot-headed’ Moorish character). He simultaneously places the work’s treachery in the hands of the manipulative Iago, the very man who presents that popular stereotyping in his dialogue, and holds it in his heart.

The Manipulation of Othello in Othello‘s latter half:

As the nature of Othello is then not called into question until the seeds of doubt are planted in his mind, one may now look forward to his conversations with Iago in acts three and four. It is not until after Iago’s first lengthy manipulation, placing suspicion in Othello’s mind, that he utters the key line, “And yet, how nature erring from itself—” (III.iii.227).

In that line, Othello is implying that the crack in his certainty about Desdemona stems from the fact that she has married him ‘despite’ his race; he is saying it would have been ‘natural’ for her to marry someone of her own race. This insecurity is easily understood by the reader or viewer, who has already seen in the opening scene of the play the state of society, wherein blackness itself seems a justification for dislike. And it is exactly this upon which Iago seizes, speaking at once (and at length) in the same racist terms to which Othello has alluded.

The reader or viewer, however, knows that Desdemona is faithful. Therefore, this instance of dramatic irony groups the racist speech together with the rest of Iago’s prattle, as being purely false. And it is not until after Othello encounters clues surreptitiously arranged by Iago and his accomplices, and demands and receives “ocular proof” (III.iii.357), that he comes to believe Iago’s lies.

One can hardly say that a character requiring five pieces of verbal and physical evidence over an act and a half to convince them of something is ‘easily manipulated’ or ‘quick-tempered.’ This is then highlighted as being unnatural to Othello when the Venetian noblemen arrive to relieve him of his duty; they are appalled at the change in him, and Lodovico expresses so in the following passage:

Is this the noble Moor whom our full Senate

Call all in all sufficient? Is this the nature

Whom passion could not shake? whose solid virtue

The shot of accident nor dart of chance

Could neither graze nor pierce? (IV.i.264-268)

Othello clearly remains an esteemed man, operating here entirely outside the bounds of what is to be expected from him. After all, it is Iago himself who claims that a change has come over him within line 268 of that scene. Therefore, the evil that concludes the play lies not in Othello, but in what Othello becomes, which is, effectively, an agent of Iago. So, if Iago initially presents popular racist sentiments, and then goes on to present extensive conniving villainy, his orientation toward Shakespeare’s audience is worthy of direct consideration.

The Character and Motivation of Iago:

The character billed as “Iago, a villain” (before the play has even begun) is key to understanding the work’s conception of the place of race in discourse on personal character and interaction, as well as being key to interpreting the social commentary of the work. There are two reasons that Iago is a scathing reflection of Elizabethan English society, despite being a Venetian character.

The first reason comes at the end of the first act, when Iago reveals in monologue another possible reason for his despising Othello: “I hate the Moor, / And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets / H’as done my office” (I.iii.377-379). Here it is shown that, even for Iago, who puts up a front of race as his reason and tool against Othello, race is a red herring; jealousy drives Iago.

Otelo e Desdémona by Antonio Muñoz Degraín - Othello - William Shakespeare - Iago, race

Otelo e Desdémona by Antonio Muñoz Degraín

Iago’s gripe is not, at base, with the color of Othello, but with the man’s illustrious career, beautiful wife, and the sort of rumors of infidelity which Iago’s actions throughout the remainder of the play directly prove can be fabricated. Planting such suspicions in Othello’s mind is an apt demonstration of the possibility that such suspicions were similarly (i.e. fraudulently) planted in Iago’s. The English audience members, who may sympathize with Iago in his racist thinking in scene one, may now find themselves faced with that potential paradox, as well as with what the true reasons might be for Iago’s bias.

The second (more direct) reason that Iago may be thought of as associated with English society comes in the second act, in the scene wherein Iago endeavors to get Cassio drunk. Herein, he goes on a seemingly innocuous ramble consisting in two drinking songs and a discussion of their origin, namely England, which he holds in esteem (II.iii.66-94).

This passage is above referred to as ‘seemingly innocuous’ because the work it does is actually remarkably subtle. This portion of the text is disarming to its consumer, the English audience, as it is a comedic scene of drunkenness, and beyond that, one wherein England is praised and referred to in glorifying (if comical) terms (“O sweet England!” (II.iii.85)).

In effect, however, this passage serves ulterior motives: it associates the villainous Iago directly with England and it provides the backhanded compliment that what they are best at among nations is drinking. Once this connection is made, the narrative moves on to the darker plot of getting Cassio into a fight, and from there the rest of the sinister plot.

Elements such as these show clearly that the character of Iago is, on one hand, a dastardly villain whose use of racism is both unfounded and belied by his true motives, and on the other hand, relatable and appealing to its English audience. The implication here is that Iago, “a villain,” could very well be the reader or viewer, or number among their kin, whether or not Iago is Venetian.

Conclusion:

The text of Othello lends itself well to progressive interpretation, due to the inescapable element of the plot that is casting the cunning Iago as a terrible antagonist, while subverting an acknowledged opinion of Othello and his race. The Venetian setting acts as a safe space for the work’s critical commentary. That is, it is not in the removal of the events from society, but in the way that the otherwise removed events are made immediate and relevant—that the piece works toward a reflection of a society full of Iagos and Roderigos, and exposes the fatal sincerity of Othellos and Desdemonas.

Ultimately, it is a hallmark of an enduring work of literature that its content is productive of wide-ranging, ever-shifting interpretation and reinterpretation of its ideas. Othello, though often thought to be restricted to its insight on wrath and tragedy for such survival, also possesses such longevity with respect to race.

Works Cited:

Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat, Paul Werstine. Folger, 2004. Print.

[Work: Othello, William Shakespeare, 1603]
Antagonism in Othello:

Subversive and Progressive Racial Attitudes in the Characters of Shakepeare’s Othello

was last modified: November 21st, 2021 by Daniel Podgorski
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