Racism In Othello And The Tempest By William Shakespeare

Racism in Shakespeare or Absurdity? Is there racism in Shakespeare’s works or is this notion absurd? Shakespeare may not be racist, but two of his plays do contain racism. One may argue that Shakespeare does not openly speak of racism in his plays, but Shakespeare does write with the idea of racism in mind, because his characters do make comments that can be considered racist. In Shakespeare’s plays Othello and The Tempest, the underlying idea of racism is present in these works, and his audiences can come to this conclusion, because of the way the characters, Othello and Caliban, are unjustly treated due to their appearances. In the play Othello, the idea of racism is first revealed in Act One, Scene One. Iago and Rodrigo are talking to†¦show more content†¦Therefore, Brabanzio should not be so distraught about the marriage. This leads to the following question: Why is Othello not good enough in Brabanzio’s eyes, when he is supposedly viewed as a friend? The answer is simple. The reason why Brabanzio has Othello as a guest in his home is because of all the good deeds he has done for Venice. Othello is good enough to be friends with Brabanzio, but Othello is not good enough to be a son-in-law, because of his outsider status and skin color. Later in the play, Brabanzio’s claim of the use of magic may be true, when Othello freaks out about Desdemona losing the handkerchief, because Othello claims that it is supposed to keep her faithful to him. Others may argue that the handkerchief is merely a keepsake from his past, but since he goes into detail of the handkerchief’s power and history, Brabanzio’s argument about magic no longer seems that farfetched; therefore, this scene helps prove Brabanzio’s sanity. By proving Brabanzio’s sanity, audiences can now come to the conclusion that Brabanzio’s outrage about the news of the wedding is due to the fact that he is racist and does not approve of Othello, because of his dark skin color and outside status. Overall, these are just some of the numerous examples of racism throughout the play Othello. Like the play Othello, The Tempest also, portrays numerous examples of the idea ofShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Racism In Othello And The Tempest By William Shakespeare1102 Words   |  5 PagesIs there racism in Shakespeare’s works or is this notion absurd? Shakespeare may not be racist, but two of his plays do contain racism. One may argue that Shakespeare does not openly speak of racism in his plays, but Shakespeare does write with the idea of racism in mind, because his characters do make comments that can be considered racist. 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