As a tale of betrayal, suspected infidelity, and murder, Othello makes a powerful statement about human nature. Certainly, this popular Shakespearean play made waves during its time. Yet, its controversial themes continue to retain their relevance in our modern world.
Some of the themes in Othello that impact the way we see the world today include those relating to race relations, domestic violence, racism, betrayal, and corruption. Invariably, the theme of domestic violence focuses our thoughts on the male-female dynamic in a romantic relationship. Shakespeare explores female suffering against the backdrop of male paranoia (one nurtured by a wily antagonist).
Othello's themes lead us to question how we choose our closest confidants and how we approach domestic relationships. They also encourage us to consider how racism impacts societal harmony.
In the play, Othello (a black man) must defend his courtship and subsequent marriage to Desdemona (a white woman). The racist epithets Iago uses to characterize Othello are an affront to modern sensibilities.
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,
Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you.
Arise, I say! (act 1, scene 1).
Othello is the "old black ram tupping" a "white ewe." Here, Shakespeare simultaneously exposes the deep-seated prejudices of his time and compels us to question our own prejudices from our modern vantage point. We cringe when Roderigo labels Othello as having "thick-lips" during his conversation with Iago in act 1, but are there racial epithets we use today that are just as offensive?
The play also leads us to ponder the themes of betrayal and corruption; Shakespeare explores these themes within a military context. In his conversation with Roderigo, Iago questions whether promotions are executed fairly in the army.
Why, there’s no remedy. 'Tis the curse of service.
Preferment goes by letter and affection,
And not by old gradation, where each second
Stood heir to th' first. Now sir, be judge yourself,
Whether I in any just term am affined
To love the Moor (act 1, scene 1).
Iago complains that "preferment goes by letter and affection." His comments lead us to ponder how favoritism engenders discontent, jealousy, and quarrels within an organization. We are led to question whether there is a correlation between perceived discrimination and workplace violence. As a result, the play does impact the way we see the world today.
Last, but not least, the play's exploration of male-female dynamics within a romantic relationship is key to our continued fascination with it today. Othello's paranoia is fueled by Iago, but we are led to ponder whether the fear of being cuckolded is as predominant in the male psyche today as it was in Shakespeare's time.
It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul.
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars,
It is the cause. Yet I’ll not shed her blood,
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow
And smooth as monumental alabaster.
Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men (act 5, scene 2).
In the above quote, Othello tells us that Desdemona must die, lest she "betray more men." He is convinced that she has betrayed him and believes that her death would be an act of justice. Othello does not question Iago's motives nor the possibility of Iago's malice. The very thought of Desdemona's possible disloyalty is enough to drive him to kill. Othello's actions inspire us to ponder the male conception of female loyalty and how men address betrayal today.
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