Social Expectations In Shakespeare's Othello

Words: 562
Pages: 3

How does the text you have studied challenge your thinking?

Shakespeare’s Othello (1603) challenges social expectations and attitudes concerning the moral astuteness between conscience and persuaded action. Demonstrated throughout the Aristotelian 5 act tragedy, the specifically racial demise of Othello, exercises the complex situation in which the consequences of murdering Desdemona are accredited between Othello and Iago, acclimatized to the thematic concerns of the racially discriminatory source of Othello’s hamartia of jealousy fuelled by feeling dehumanised through the theme prejudice. The context of the Elizabethan era, where social hierarchy adhered to The Chain of Being and Christianity was prominently followed, heavily influences Shakespeare’ plays to be didactic and a cautionary consideration of those not observing the divine commands,
…show more content…
Specific language techniques, Elizabethan context and Shakespeare’s personal relationship with Elizabethan Authority deem the play Othello an evocative engagement to the audience of the unethical and …show more content…
He was a general, and while he could be valuable as a fighter he was tolerated, just as a black man in America would be’’. This quote clearly expresses the paternal and constricting nature of Othello’s “Freedom’’ as a high-ranking soldier. Furthermore, as Iago takes advantage of the constraints Othello incurs from institutionalized racism an extant reader will question – If Iago, the main cause of Othello’s jealousy, is held accountable for Desdemona’s death, are Western Government also answerable to the coerced acts of marginalised people? Like Iago, are their systems in place that manipulate the vulnerable state of minorities? If the powerless are acting on behalf of having no power, are the powerful the ones to