Othello - Values and Attitudes - 2518 Words

quot;If Othello didnt begin as a play about race, history has made it one.quot; The Venetian society that Othello is set in is representative of the writers context. The attitudes and values that Shakespeare reveals through the text are those same attitudes and values of Elizabethan society in England in the sixteenth-century. Although Othello is set in Venice and Cyprus, the attitudes and values shared in the text are probably reflective of the attitudes and values of Shakespeares own society. It is difficult to assess the attitudes and values of people in sixteenth-century Britain to the relatively few blacks living amongst them. We are given an insight into those attitudes and values through the representation of race and†¦show more content†¦Marriage has also changed. In the sixteenth century girls tended to be married off rather young in their teens and to have their husbands chosen for them by their fathers. Now girls tend to get married in their late twenties and are free to choose their own partner. These attitudes and values that are revealed in the text are done so through the representation of race and gender. Race and gender are revealed in the text by the uses of imagery, characterisation, plot, stylistic techniques, and language. Race is represented in many different ways to allow the attitudes and values of Elizabethan society to be revealed through it. The way race is portrayed allows us to have access to these attitudes and values. Race is portrayed by the character Othello, who is a moor, and by what is said about him, and how hes reacted to. Othello is presented initially as a dangerous beast by Iago, before he reveals himself to be of noble, human, status, only to degenerate later to the condition of a bloodthirsty and irrational animal. He is the hero of the play and this is achieved by his last speech(V. ii. 340-356) where he rights himself at the end of the play. quot;I kissed thee ere I killed thee: no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kissquot; (V. ii. 359). By showing us these contrasting images of the moor, Shakespeare is revealing the two different attitudes to race. The one of acceptance, as shown through characters such asShow MoreRelatedOthello Reflects the Context and Values of its Time Essay1342 Words   |  6 PagesTexts and their appropriations reflect the context and values of their times. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello, the evolution of the attitudes held by Elizabethan audiences and those held by contemporary audiences can be seen throu gh the context of the female coupled with the context of racism. The role of the female has developed from being submissive and â€Å"obedient† in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting.Read MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1709 Words   |  7 Pagesof diverse cultures, looks, values, and beliefs. In a world with one predominant culture, those perceived as different from the norm are associated with negative images and treated inferior to the superior culture. The negative images associated with color, specifically blackness, has a detrimental effect on the victims who are racially stereotyped. The character Othello is a unique character in English literature, because unlike the other members of society, Othello is an outsider in Venice. HeRead MoreShakespeares Play Othello and Tim Blake Nelsons Film O 826 Words   |  3 Pagescontextual influences, yet the core human values have remained unaffected. 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