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Othello
Iago. 'Zounds! sir, you are one of those that will not serve God if the devil bid you.Because we come to do you service and you think we are ruffians, you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse; you'll have your nephews neigh to you; you'll have coursers for cousins and gennets for germans. (Othello, Act I, Scene I).
Once again I am here to speak about a famous black person. And once again I must preface that it is a sad state of affairs that we must highlight a specific race. Black men and women have long contributed to our society, but often from the shadows thrown across them by racial violence and prejudice. That said, I am going to step back much further in history than we normally do, and examine a fictional character from William Shakespeare's play, “The Tragedy of Othello, The Moore of Venice.” The play was probably written in 1603 and first performed in 1604, that is 420 years ago. The main character Othello is a black general from North Africa fighting on behalf of the city state of Venice against the Ottoman Turks invading Cypress in 1570. The story is taken from a short story of love and jealousy written by an Italian novelist.
The first thing we should note about Shakespeare's play is that the villain Iago has far more lines than does Othello. It is fair to say that Iago's hatred of Othello, which he, as an officer in Othello's service, carefully conceals, is the driving engine of the play. The question is why does he hate Othello so much? The first suggestion is jealousy, apparently the main theme of the originating novella. But Iago himself seems to dismiss jealousy. The first driving theme to appear is the fact that Iago has been passed over for promotion to second in command by Casio, who is now Othello's lieutenant. This slight is definitely stuck in Iago's craw. But the question must be posed, is there a deeper reason for this hatred? Othello is described as “thick-lipped” in the first scene. Because of the long presence of Phoenician and Roman colonies in North Africa, not all Moores were “thick-lipped”. Othello is definitely black.
The above quote is Iago informing Brabantio, a Venetian senetor, that his daughter Desdemona has married the Moore from Barbary without her father's blessing, which was never done in proper Italian society. Moreover, a gentleman would never take her as his wife without the father's permission. Here Iago is comparing Othello to a horse, and rolling out beastial imagery. “Gennets for germans” suggests Spanish horses for close relatives. This does suggest a racial attack on Othello's character. So the question should certainly be asked is Iago racist, and further what is Shakespeare's thought on race?
Third Gent. Michael Cassio,
Lierutenant to the war-like Moor Othello,
Is come on shore: the Moor himself's at sea,
And is in full commission here for Cypress.
Mon. I am glad on't; 'tis a worthy governor.
Third Gent. But this same Cassio, though he speak of comfort
Touching the Turkish loss, yet he looks sadly
And prays the Moor be safe; for they were parted
With foul and violent tempest.
Mon. Pray heaven he be;
For I have serv'd him, and the man commands
Like a full soldier. Let's to the sea-side, ho!
As well to see the vessel that's come in
As to throw out our eyes for brave Othello... (Othello, Act II, Scene I).
The Royal Shakespeare Company did a production of Othello in 2015 featuring an all black cast. Lead actor Hugh Quarshie says that “Othello [the play] is racist by omission,” rather than by commission. I am not sure what he means by omission. Does he mean that Shakespeare should have included a praise of black men? What Shakespeare has created is a tragic figure on par with Hamlet or King Lear, but who is black. The Duke of Venice refers to Othello as “valiant Othello” and clearly he is held in great respect by the Venetian Council. When Brabantio appears to seek redress from the council he is consoled that the matter is over and done, and as the Duke says, “He robs himself that spends a bootless grief.” Desdemona has married an honorable man and a valued general, who is now commissioned to Cypress to stop the Ottoman attack. In Cypress, Montano the governor that he is to replace is excited to hear that Othello is coming and speaks very highly of him, noting that he had served under him.
So we should discuss London in Shakespeare's day. There were perhaps as many as 200 black men and women in London at the time according to church records, so Shakespeare is likely to have met one or two, if only casually. In addition there were as many as three North African emissaries in London during that time, including the man to the left, Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun, Moorish ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I in 1600. It is highly possible that Shakespeare had met this man or members of his entourage, but, as you can see, this man is not thick-lipped. Plays from that period often portrayed black Africans as simple or evil. Most Africans at the time were either pagan or Muslim as this ambassador appears to be. Think of our own thoughts on the Taliban, or Iranian backed militants. I would imagine that the stories in Elizabethan London were at least as siliceous.
Against this background, Shakespeare has created a character who is black and who is highly respected by his peers. Shakespeare's troop were highly unlikely to have had a black actor, so he was most probably played by a white actor in black face paint. Historically this is how Othello has been portrayed up until recent times, although not usually because of the lack of black actors, but because of predjudice. Still the dignity of Othello outshines the darkness.
In 1930, Paul Robeson, a black man, became the first black man to play Othello in recent times. An abolishionist group had attempted this in 1865, but were stopped from performing. In a later interview, Robeson admitted that he had to be quite cautious as to how close his lips came to Desdemona. He certainly couldn't kiss her on the lips as a husband would do. Of course that was unlikely in Shakespeare's day either, but for a different reason. Desdemona would have been played by a young man in 1604. Women weren't allowed on the stage in Elizabethan England. For Shakespeare, it seems he acknowledges racism, but pushes it aside, adding it to Iago's villainy and no more. So what is the play about?
Des. And have mercy too! I never did
Offend you in my life; never lov'd Cassio
But with such general warranty of heaven
As I might love; I never gave him token.
Oth. By heaven, I saw my handkerchief in's hand.
O perjur'd woman! thou dost stone my heart,
And mak'st me call what I intend to do
A murder, which I thought a sacrifice:
I saw the handkerchief.
Des. He found it then;
I never gave it him. Send for him hither;
Let him confess the truth. (Othello, Act V, Scene II).
Michael Sugrue suggests that Shakespeare uses this play to explore Machiavelli's book “The Prince.” This book, published in 1532, or 70 years prior to Othello, is an instructional guide for princes. Machiavelli assumes that immoral acts are a necessary part of politics. For us, the important point is that a prince must be both a lion and fox to rule well. He must exhibit strength of character as well as cunning. What Shakespeare has done is to separate the two characteristics, producing tragic consequences. Othello is a simple man, but a lion of a man, powerful, honorable and decisive and highly respected for it. Unfortunately, he constantly refers to Iago as honest, believing Iago's sly complements to be his honest thoughts. Moreover, Othello would not commit an unjust act against honor. Thus, believing Desdemona to have been unfaithful, he gives her the opportunity to confess her sins and make herself right with God before he murders her. On the other hand, Iago is a fox, but definitely not a lion. He is cowardly. When tasked to murder Casio, he convinces his friend Roderigo to do it for him, for which Roderigo pays with his life.
In the end, Iago's treachery is discovered. His own wife, Desdemona's handmaid calls him out, only to be murdered by her husband Iago. Othello, horrified that he has been duped into such a despicable act, and therefore commits suicide. Iago is led off to be tortured and executed.
My conclusion is that Shakespeare has created a figure of great dignity and honor, who is also black. His fault appears to be that he doesn't believe his ensign would act so dishonesty; that he has not the cunning to realize he is being duped by his ensign is tragic. There are many who would have erased this drama from history, but by its authorship it stood fast. For this reason, many eminent black actors have been proud to have portrayed the venerable Othello on stage.