Explore the significance of Othello’s background and otherness to the tragedy of the
play.
When examining Shakespeare’s Othello, it becomes clear that the tragic hero is
characterised as some kind of ‘other.’ Looking further into the play, it is without question
that in the binary of the ‘ideal’ and the ‘other’, the poles are not only separated by skin
colour or physical attributes, but also what these phenotypic differences represent. This
becomes increasingly clear when looking at descriptions of Othello, how he is perceived
by himself and others, and perhaps more importantly, the implications embedded within
the motif of light and darkness.
Perhaps the most obvious instance of Othello’s othering are in his physical descriptions.
Throughout Act 1, Scene 1, Othello’s physicality is characterised by Roderigo and Iago,
and is largely dependent on animalistic and sexualised imagery. This is clear, for
example, when Roderigo calls Othello ‘the thick lips’ and ‘lascivious Moor’, not only
reducing him to a racialised physical attribute, but also alluding to the stereotyped
hypersexual nature of black men. This is further emphasised by Shakespeare’s use of
animalistic imagery, repeatedly used by Iago to describe intercourse between
Desdemona and Othello, positioning the latter as a predator. Iago deliberately provokes
Brabantio’s rage and fears of miscegenation by telling him ‘an old black ram is tupping
your white ewe’, and ‘you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse.’ In both
instances, such bestial imagery makes Othello seem extremley primal and uncivilised,
unable to control his baser sexual instincts. All of these characteristics become
intrinsically linked to Othello’s skin colour, as it is continuously laboured. It is important
to acknowledge, however, that Roderigo, Iago and Brabantio hold respective grudges
against Othello, irrespective of his race; Roderigo because he is in love with
Desdemona, Iago because he was passed over for promotion, and Brabantio for
eloping with his young daughter. Therefore, it could be argued that their degrading
descriptions of Othello are shaped by their already negative views of him. Yet, it is
impossible to ignore that these descriptions specifically pinpoint and almost exclusively
use race as a means to degrade Othello. As a result, the resentment they hold towards
Othello cannot be untied from racial prejudices. Furthermore, it is significant to note that
the othering of Othello does not only take shape in the degradation of his character; in
fact, his own wife, Desdemona, continuously highlights his outsider status by referring to
him as ‘the Moor.’ While this method of othering is not explicit, or perhaps, even
intentional, it constantly draws attention to the fact that Othello is foreign and ethnically
distinct from everyone else onstage, in turn making him seem out of place.
To further explore the complex nature of Othello as a fully developed, tragic hero, it
raises the question: was Shakespeare leaning on racist tropes throughout the play as a
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
play.
When examining Shakespeare’s Othello, it becomes clear that the tragic hero is
characterised as some kind of ‘other.’ Looking further into the play, it is without question
that in the binary of the ‘ideal’ and the ‘other’, the poles are not only separated by skin
colour or physical attributes, but also what these phenotypic differences represent. This
becomes increasingly clear when looking at descriptions of Othello, how he is perceived
by himself and others, and perhaps more importantly, the implications embedded within
the motif of light and darkness.
Perhaps the most obvious instance of Othello’s othering are in his physical descriptions.
Throughout Act 1, Scene 1, Othello’s physicality is characterised by Roderigo and Iago,
and is largely dependent on animalistic and sexualised imagery. This is clear, for
example, when Roderigo calls Othello ‘the thick lips’ and ‘lascivious Moor’, not only
reducing him to a racialised physical attribute, but also alluding to the stereotyped
hypersexual nature of black men. This is further emphasised by Shakespeare’s use of
animalistic imagery, repeatedly used by Iago to describe intercourse between
Desdemona and Othello, positioning the latter as a predator. Iago deliberately provokes
Brabantio’s rage and fears of miscegenation by telling him ‘an old black ram is tupping
your white ewe’, and ‘you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse.’ In both
instances, such bestial imagery makes Othello seem extremley primal and uncivilised,
unable to control his baser sexual instincts. All of these characteristics become
intrinsically linked to Othello’s skin colour, as it is continuously laboured. It is important
to acknowledge, however, that Roderigo, Iago and Brabantio hold respective grudges
against Othello, irrespective of his race; Roderigo because he is in love with
Desdemona, Iago because he was passed over for promotion, and Brabantio for
eloping with his young daughter. Therefore, it could be argued that their degrading
descriptions of Othello are shaped by their already negative views of him. Yet, it is
impossible to ignore that these descriptions specifically pinpoint and almost exclusively
use race as a means to degrade Othello. As a result, the resentment they hold towards
Othello cannot be untied from racial prejudices. Furthermore, it is significant to note that
the othering of Othello does not only take shape in the degradation of his character; in
fact, his own wife, Desdemona, continuously highlights his outsider status by referring to
him as ‘the Moor.’ While this method of othering is not explicit, or perhaps, even
intentional, it constantly draws attention to the fact that Othello is foreign and ethnically
distinct from everyone else onstage, in turn making him seem out of place.
To further explore the complex nature of Othello as a fully developed, tragic hero, it
raises the question: was Shakespeare leaning on racist tropes throughout the play as a
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
