November 2013
Racism in Othello
In the play Othello, set in sixteenth century Venice, the title character is a Moor who finds himself in a poor situation because he married Barbantio’s daughter without asking for her hand first.
A Moor is a historic Muslim that inhabited northern Africa and Sicily. In 711, the Moors began invading Spain, Ireland and southern Italy.
In the following discussion, it is important to also keep in mind the class system that was used within society at this time and where both Barbantio and Othello fit into this.
At this time, there were three different classes: popolani, cittadini and patricians. The popolani were the highest class and would have been where Barbantio resided, whereas Othello, not having been born into an upper class, would have been apart of the patricians.
During this time period, despite the majority
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