Lasting Legacy and Value of Othello in the 21st Century

Today we’re going to go through an analysis of William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, based on topics one Marjorie Garber had communicated during a lecture; “Othello is not reducible to a political tract, but its richness records and response to a world in crisis, a crisis figured in part through emergent categories like race, class, gender – and sexuality.” Othello, as a play itself, is becoming increasingly influential in the 21st-century society in the context of its many controversial themes, values, and morals. It is simply undeniable that these controversial subjects subtly detailed within the play have grown to be more relevant than just one period or “political tract” it ever has been. This is particularly true on the topic of how the perception and image of race can be manipulated and the feminine sexual expectations imposed upon and the innumerable accounts of the mistreatment of women as mere objects and possessions, both are extremely important values of debate for the 21st-century society and can absolutely be considered a lasting legacy and value of Shakespeare’s Othello.

Firstly, the manipulation of the perception of race is one of the most crucial themes within Othello and is becoming ever more relevant in modern contemporary society as a legacy of Shakespeare’s literature. We can see clearly in the first act of the play, that Othello, the Moor of Venice, presents himself as imperturbable and a dignified mediator; “keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them… Good signors, you shall command with years than with your weapons.” A fair and justified comment to keep calm, a clear juxtaposition to fighting, violence and Iago’s animalistic description of the Moor; “an old black ram”. Othello is at first indisputably just and polite; “Most potent, grave, and reverend signors,” a tricolon that signifies the pure eloquent speech of the Moor. Unfortunately, before and throughout the entire noble tragedy that is the military expedition at Cyprus, the confidence and pride within the Moor gradually diminish to jealousy and the doubtfulness of self. Small excerpts and references to race litter the plotline; “your son-in-law is far more fair than black” clearly shows that the colour which is the absence of light refers to negative imagery. Even though this comment wasn’t directed as an insult to the Moor, it is a reference and reminder and is what ultimately builds up to contributes to the insecurity and downfall of Othello. A clear example of the Moor directly conveying his precarious nature of happiness is when he exclaims that “But I do love thee, and when I love thee not… Chaos is come again', this clear foreshadowing gives us a plain picture of how a simple manipulation and lie through a chain of events can turn one person’s persona inside-out. Othello utters that “But I do love the gentle Desdemona”, at the start of the play, doing nothing but meditating and calming down, but the simple contrast of that to the end, Othello wanted to “tear her to pieces”. This manipulation of the perception of race is not in any way limited to the zeitgeist of the Shakespearean age and is becoming ever more important in the 21st-century society that is often filled with more accounts of racism than inclusion, and Othello is a crucial cautionary legacy of how during the metamorphosis of a being, one can replace good with evil. Othello responds to a “world in crisis” by providing cautionary events to prevent tragic endings from such small amounts of segregation.

Secondly, the sexual expectations imposed upon and the countless acts of mistreatment against women as mere objects and possessions is another extremely important theme that one could possibly gain from the reading of Othello. We know that Desdemona was treated like a literal and psychological property of Signor Brabantio, and a possession for him to hold faraway from the imperfectness of the world. Iago compares Desdemona to mere objects, proclaiming “Look to your house, your daughter and your bags!”, an anaphora that weighs Desdemona and bags on the same level of social order, Iago paints a picture of a mere possession that could be stolen. “Damn as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!”, an extremely objectification of his own daughter, as if a boy to a broken toy, and it just shows the mere mistreatment of women within the Venetian society. Two juxtaposing images of the qualities of womanhood are presented in Othello, firstly, the loyal, fair, and beautiful woman, a characteristic manifested by Desdemona, and secondly, the lustful, lascivious, and lubricious woman, a whore, represented by Bianca. Yet throughout the play, readers are able to discern that the two distinct portrayals of women do not apply to any kind of women in the real world, nor does it to the world of Othello, but a mere fantastical construct of men and their views. A clear example of this would be during one of Iago’s many lies to impose jealousy on Othello, “That cuckold lives in bliss… Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger,” a subliminal message that Iago indicates is that men do not sometimes know, if one is simply virtuous, or is acting virtuous which playing to be a lustful witch behind the Moor’s back. When Desdemona consults Emilia and asks the question of the unfaithful acts, “…who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? I should venture purgatory for’t.” This biblical reference, allusion, and imagery represent that sometimes, faithful women cannot contain their sexual desires if there is a greater reward waiting at the end of the tunnel, and sometimes there is a greater reward, and women aren’t meant to stay in their designated expectations and perceptions put upon them by the greater society. This is one of the “emergent categories” of debate in 21st-century society and is absolutely one of the most important lasting legacies of Othello.

In conclusion, the lasting legacy and value of Othello in the 21st century include many extremely important topics, including race, and sexuality, and by attending to and building a basis for learning upon these past misconceptions so colorfully painted in Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, we can strive to surpass a moral “crisis”.