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Why would Shakespeare choose a black man to be a protagonist in his play Othello?
Wiki User
∙ 7y ago
Shakespeare didn't choose Othello to be black. That was part of a story by an Italian called Cinthio where Shakespeare got the idea for the play. Cinthio's story was in fact focussed on this aspect of Othello's relationship with Desdemona (as indeed many modern productions of Shakespeare's play do) and explicitly had Desdemona state the trite and racist moral that white women shouldn't get involved with black men. Shakespeare, of course, in adapting the story, goes much deeper into the psychology of jealousy and the problems of any kind of mixed marriage by having Othello and Desdemona be of different ages and social classes as well as races. Cinthio's Moor is not a very nice man, but Shakespeare paints Othello in a very sympathetic light, so we feel his pain as his jealousy and his genuine love battle it out in him.
Wiki User
∙ 7y ago
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoOthello is of course the most famous Shakespearean character who is a "Moor" which is to say that he was an African, either from North Africa or sub-Saharan Africa--the Elizabethans were aware of both and did not make a distinction. There are two other characters in Shakespeare who are Moors. Aaron in Titus Andronicus is a moustache-twirling villain, who says as he is about to be executed that if he did anything good in his life, he now regrets it. Yeesh! There's also the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice, one of the suitors of Portia, the guy who picks the gold casket. He is a bit of a comic character, like the other suitor, the Prince of Aragon, but endearing. Thus Shakespeare wrote a comic African character, a villainous African character and a heroic African character, so he appears to have had no prejudices about Africans whatsoever. And this was typical of Elizabethan writing. In George Peele's 1589 play The Battle of Alcazar there are all kinds of Moors who are mostly pretty good guys, including one, Abdelmelec (Abd-al-malik) who is an absolute hero. There is also another Moor called Muly Mahamet who is the villain.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoyes he was black
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Who is the black main character in a shakespearean play?
Othello, the Moor of Venice, is the tragic hero of Shakespeare's play of the same name. In the twentieth century, some theaters refused to stage the play because it showed a Black man married to a White woman.
Would the novel of Othello be different if Othello was white?
There is no novel of Othello, actually. The famous Othello is a play by Shakespeare. Plays are not novels. If Othello was white, Othello wouldn't have been insecure, his relationship with Desdemona wouldn't be disapproved of and Iago might have hated Othello less. That is, of course assuming that Othello is white and so is everybody else. If Othello were white and everyone else was black, the story would be much the same because Othello's insecurity stems from his feeling of otherness, his feeling that he was different from everyone else. Othello has in fact been staged in this way, with a black cast and a white Othello. It has also been staged with actors playing Othello who are not black but are different from the rest in some other way.
What is the significance of Desdemones relationship with Othello?
The significance of Desdemona's relationship with Othello is that she marries him dispite knowing her father would not approve. Othello was a black man and was looked down upon because of his race and color. Shakespeare was tackling the race issue way ahead of most people.
Who of Shakespeare's plays featured black characters?
There are three Shakespearean characters who are African and are called Moors. Some if not all of them were intended to be North African types, not sub-saharan. They are: Aaron in Titus Andronicus who is a villain of the melodrama type, The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice who is somewhat comic, and Othello in Othello who is a tragic hero.
Who was the first black actor to appear in a shakespeare play?
The first one to play major roles that we know of was Ira Aldridge who first appeared as Othello in London (although he was American he was not permitted to act in the United States and had to leave for Europe) in 1825. Facing a certain amount of racism in Britain he went to the continent where he was very successful, not only as Othello, but also as Lear, Shylock and Macbeth. He then returned and continued his career in England. There may have been other black actors who appeared in Shakespeare earlier, particularly in amateur productions, but no record has come down to us.
Who is the first black male protagonist in English literature?
Probably would be Othello in Shakespeare's play, "Othello", written around 1603~
What was William shakespeare main black character he played?
Othello
Who is the black main character in a shakespearean play?
Othello, the Moor of Venice, is the tragic hero of Shakespeare's play of the same name. In the twentieth century, some theaters refused to stage the play because it showed a Black man married to a White woman.
Who of Shakespeare's plays feature black characters?
There are three black (or African at any rate) characters in Shakespeare: Aaron in Titus Andronicus (he's an evil villain), The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice (he's somewhat comical), and Othello, the main character in Othello (he's a hero and a tragic victim).
Would the novel of Othello be different if Othello was white?
There is no novel of Othello, actually. The famous Othello is a play by Shakespeare. Plays are not novels. If Othello was white, Othello wouldn't have been insecure, his relationship with Desdemona wouldn't be disapproved of and Iago might have hated Othello less. That is, of course assuming that Othello is white and so is everybody else. If Othello were white and everyone else was black, the story would be much the same because Othello's insecurity stems from his feeling of otherness, his feeling that he was different from everyone else. Othello has in fact been staged in this way, with a black cast and a white Othello. It has also been staged with actors playing Othello who are not black but are different from the rest in some other way.
What is the significance of Desdemones relationship with Othello?
The significance of Desdemona's relationship with Othello is that she marries him dispite knowing her father would not approve. Othello was a black man and was looked down upon because of his race and color. Shakespeare was tackling the race issue way ahead of most people.
Who of Shakespeare's plays featured black characters?
There are three Shakespearean characters who are African and are called Moors. Some if not all of them were intended to be North African types, not sub-saharan. They are: Aaron in Titus Andronicus who is a villain of the melodrama type, The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice who is somewhat comic, and Othello in Othello who is a tragic hero.
Who is the black moor?
Othello
What plays have only one black actor?
Othello
Who was the first black actor to appear in a shakespeare play?
The first one to play major roles that we know of was Ira Aldridge who first appeared as Othello in London (although he was American he was not permitted to act in the United States and had to leave for Europe) in 1825. Facing a certain amount of racism in Britain he went to the continent where he was very successful, not only as Othello, but also as Lear, Shylock and Macbeth. He then returned and continued his career in England. There may have been other black actors who appeared in Shakespeare earlier, particularly in amateur productions, but no record has come down to us.
Was Othello a Moor or a Turk?
Othello is neither a Turk nor a Spaniard. The most specific description of Othello given throughout the play is that he is a Moor. A Moor typically describes someone who is black or Arab and has descended from North Africa. Europeans applied the term 'Moor' loosely to people who were black or Middle Eastern in appearance, and thus, not much can be determined about Othello's race or appearance from this description.
What animals epithets are applied to Othello?
"an old black ram", "a Barbary horse"
