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Othello by William Shakespeare is set during the Elizabethan Period when women and people from other races were segregated and “Othered” due to their sex, race or skin colour. This was a time period when it was extremely rare to see a black man with power. Shakespeare placed Othello, a South African origin, into the high role of Duke of Venice to add more controversy into the storyline. Othello is in large demand by the Venetian government, as shown by Cassio’s response that the senate “sent about three several quests” in the search for Othello. The senate put themselves above Othello and clearly demonstrate this by calling him ‘moor’ but Venetian government trusts Othello enough to put him in full martial and political command of Cyprus and its garrison.
By putting Othello into the high rank, and by making him respected and comptent, Shakespeare recalls the idea that Others may not be as bad as the general population believed. Towards the ending, however, Othello transformed back into the stereotype. He has been removed from all his power and is now considered the devil for murdering his wife. By applying those ideas into questions in the first place, Shakespeare questions the validity of stereotypes. His play focuses on the idea that Others are not as inhuman as they appear; but in an effort keep his audience in a comfortable place, he returns to the stereotypical view of those Others at the end of the play.
Iago is othered from society due to his values. Shakespeare uses Iago to illustrate societies’ beliefs and moral values on a whole. In this novel, Iago is the main antagonist to Othello, and he accomplishes his plan to raze Othello by making him assume that Desdemona is cheating on him. As a result of his success, he was able to accomplish his plan, the reader is able to see the assumptions on society that Shakespeare laid out to demonstrate. These morals and ideas are under three major categories: that people largely use each other, that we should do whatever needs to be done to go for our goals, and that the words of a man and more believable than those of a woman, even when she is a wife.
Shakespeare uses Iago to demonstrate all three of these quite well. The very basis of the character Iago is used to demonstrate that a value within society is that it is okay for people to use each other. Iago is made to be constantly using other people, using his so-called friends. He acts as a friend to Othello, gaining his trust, simply so that he will be able to backstab him later. He never intends to be a real friend, and in fact is plotting the entire time. Iago also uses Roderigo, someone that we originally view as his friend. He uses Roderigo for money only, promises him things, but simply takes his money. Iago also uses his wife, Emilia to contribute to his plot. Iago has no real comrades; no person that he meets is not used by him for evilness. Yet, Shakespeare does not have us see Iago’s actions as uncommon.
We accept that he is using Roderigo and Emilia, we accept that he will attempt to gain Othello’s trust simply to backstab him. We are made to believe that this is okay, and even to be expected. This demonstrates societies moral value, that it is okay to use people like this, that it is okay for Iago to act as he has.
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