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William Shakespeare

Othello

Act 1, Scene 3
line 276 - 300
Brabantio predicts unfaithfulness!

Keith Tankard
Knowledge4Africa.com
Updated: 22 January 2014
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The scene opens with messages that Cyprus is about to be attacked by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire.

Into the midst of this excitement comes Brabantio to appeal to the Duke for justice at Othello's elopement with Desdemona. He accuses the Moor of seducing his daughter through magical spells and drugs.

Othello defends himself in that it was merely his stories of the battlefield -- and of the strange people whom he encountered -- which had won Desdemona to him.

Desdemona, upon being summoned, confirms Othello's innocence. Since Brabantio will not have her back into his house, however, she is forced to follow Othello to Cyprus.

In the meantime, Iago hatches his plot to revenge himself on Othello, as well as to win Desdemona over to Roderigo.



WAS IT NECESSARY FOR THE PLOT
THAT OTHELLO BE BLACK?

This play deals with insecurities and revenge. To achieve that purpose, although it was not essential for Othello to be Black, it made it very much easier for Shakespeare to put the point across.

Indeed, the Shakespearian audience would have distrusted Othello from the very moment that he set foot on stage because he would have symbolised many things that the audience would feel insecure about.

Othello was very much "the other" or "the outsider".

First, he was a Moor who, in Shakespeare's time, were despised in England. Furthermore, although the Moors of Spain had long converted to Christianity, it was suspected that their conversions were false and that, at heart, they were still practising Islamic custom.

He was also dark skinned (Shakespeare confuses Moor with Negro) and, again in Shakespeare's day, black had the connotation of evil. "To be the black sheep of the family" meant to be the odd one out, not to be trusted.

The colour black was associated with death and Satan whereas white was associated with purity and goodness. A person wore black to a funeral whereas brides wore white to their wedding. This was then transferred in the class structure: White people were trusted whereas Black people were distrusted.

Biblically, Black people were believed to be the descendants of Ham, doomed to be "hewers of wood and drawers of water" -- in other words, to be slaves. Indeed, it was this association which enabled Europe of Elizabethan times to enslave black people.

Furthermore, Othello was clearly a practiser of magic and witchcraft, made clear by Brabantio and substantiated by Desdemona. He had won Desdemona's affections by his tales of magic and witchcraft, stories of people who faces were on their chests.

Indeed, Brabantio was of the opinion that he had entrapped her by witchcraft, and remember that witches could be burned at the stake in Shakespeare's day.

It is very clear that Brabantio would never have given Othello the hand of Desdemona in marriage if he had not been forced to do so because Venice needed Othello to help them defeat the Turks.

It is also very clear that the Duke would have carried out Brabantio's wishes to slap Othello in gaol for eloping with Desdemona except that his military prowess was essential at that very moment.

In other words, a play of betrayal and mistrust worked far better if the main character was black skinned because then Shakespeare could take much for granted without having to explain it.

Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:



"At nine i' the morning here we'll meet again.
Othello, leave some officer behind,
And he shall our commission bring to you."
  • Why does everyone need to meet with the Duke at nine the following morning? (4)

[Need help?]

  • Will Othello be there? Give reasons for your answer. (2)

[Need help?]

  • Why does the Duke use the pronoun "our" instead of "my" when he says "our commission"? (2)

[Need help?]




"So please your grace, my ancient,
A man he is of honesty and trust,
To his conveyance I assign my wife."
  • Who is Othello referring to when he speaks of "my ancient"? (1)

[Need help?]

  • Comment on the irony of Othello's words. (4)

[Need help?]

  • Why is it important to the plot that Iago be given charge of Desdemona for the voyage to Cyprus? (4)

[Need help?]




"If virtue no delighted beauty lack,
Your son-in-law is far more fair than black."
  • Comment fully on the paradox of the words "more fair than black". (6)

[Need help?]




"Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceiv'd her father, and may thee."
  • Explain the tone of Brabantio's advice to Othello. (2)

[Need help?]

  • In what way has Desdemona deceived her father? (2)

[Need help?]

  • Why are these words central to the unfolding of the plot? (4)

[Need help?]




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