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Othello (character)

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Othello
Othellocharacter
Othello and Desdemona in VenicebyThéodore Chassériau(1819–56)
Created byWilliam Shakespeare
Based on"The Moorish Captain" fromCinthio'sHecatommithi
In-universe information
AliasThe Moor
OccupationSoldier
AffiliationRepublic of Venice
SpouseDesdemona
ReligionCatholic;formerlyIslam
OriginAfricaorArabia

Othello(/ɒˈθɛloʊ/,oh-THELL-oh) is a character inShakespeare'sOthello(c. 1601–1604). The character's origin is traced to the tale "Un Capitano Moro" inGli HecatommithibyGiovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio.There, he is simply referred to as the Moor.

Othellowas first mentioned in a Revels account of 1604 when the play was performed on 1 November atWhitehall PalacewithRichard Burbagealmost certainly Othello's first interpreter. Modern notable performers of the role includePaul Robeson,Orson Welles,Richard Burton,James Earl Jones,Laurence Fishburne,Laurence Olivier,andAvery Brooks.

Role[edit]

Othello is a Venetian general. After their time in Venice, Othello is appointed general in theVenetian Army.His officerIagotricks him into believing that his wifeDesdemonais having an affair with his Lieutenant,Michael Cassio.Othello kills his wife out of jealousy by strangling her, only to realize that his wife was faithful after Emilia reveals the truth, at which point he commits suicide.

Ethnicity[edit]

Othello and DesdemonabyAlexandre-Marie Colin,1829
Portrait ofAbd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud,ambassador ofAhmad al-MansurofMoroccotoQueen Elizabeth Iin 1600, sometimes claimed as an inspiration for Othello.[1]
Portrait possibly ofLeo Africanus,another possible inspiration for Othello[2]

There is no final consensus over Othello's ethnicity; whether ofMaghrebiorigin as in the generally accepted definition of "Moor", or ofSub-SaharanAfrican.

E. A. J. Honigmann, the editor of theArden Shakespeareedition concluded that Othello's ethnic background is ambiguous. "Renaissance representations of the Moor were vague, varied, inconsistent, and contradictory. As critics have established, the term 'Moor' referred to dark-skinned people in general, used interchangeably with similarly ambiguous terms as 'African', 'Ethiopian' and even 'Indian' to designate a figure from Africa (or beyond)."[3][4]Various uses of the word "black" (for example, "Haply for I am black" ) are insufficient evidence for any accurate racial classification, Honigmann argues, since "black" could simply mean "swarthy" to Elizabethans. In 1911, James Welton argued more evidence points to him being Sub-Saharan, though Shakespeare's intention is unknown.[5]He citesBrabantio's description of Othello's "sooty bosom", a racial stereotype during this time, and Othello's contrast between his "begrimed" features and the purity of the goddessDiana.He argues that interpretations attempting to change Othello from "black to brown" were due to racial prejudice duringReconstruction in the USand notes that Othello is described using similar language to Aaron inTitus Andronicus.[6]Virginia Mason Vaughan suggests that the racial identity of the character of Othello fits more clearly as a man fromSub-Saharan Africathan from North Africa (Barbary), as north Africans were more easily accepted into society. She states that by 1604, accounts of Othello as deriving from farther south were not uncommon.[7]She notes Roderigo's description of Othello having "thick lips" was a racial stereotype used by 16th century explorers for Sub-Saharan Africans.[8]Modern-day readers and theatre directors lean away from a North African Moorish interpretation[9]but Shakespeare's textual references are unclear. Iago twice uses the word "Barbary" or "Barbarian" to refer to Othello, seemingly referring to theBarbarycoast inhabited by the "tawny" Moors. Roderigo calls Othello "the thicklips", which seems to refer to European conceptions of Sub-Saharan African physiognomy, but Honigmann counters that, as these comments are all intended as insults by the characters, they need not be taken literally.[10]

Michael Neill, editor of theOxford Shakespeareedition, notes that the earliest known critical references to Othello's colour, (Thomas Rymer's 1693 critique of the play, and the 1709 engraving inNicholas Rowe's edition of Shakespeare), assume him to be a black man, while the earliest known North African interpretation was not untilEdmund Kean's production of 1814.[11]It has been suggested thatAbd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun,ambassador of the King of Morocco toQueen Elizabeth Iin 1600, may have been an inspiration for Othello. He stayed with his retinue in London for several months and occasioned much discussion, and thus might have inspired Shakespeare's play, written only a few years afterwards. The exact date thatOthellowas written is unknown, though sources indicate that it was written between 1601 and 1610, sometime after the Moorish delegation. However, Honigmann questions the view that ben Messaoud inspired Othello.[12]

Othello and Iago (1901)

Othello is referred to as a "Barbary horse" (1.1.113), a "lascivious Moor" (1.1.127), and "the devil" (1.1.91). In III.III, he denounces Desdemona's supposed sin as being "black as mine own face". Desdemona's physical whiteness is otherwise presented in opposition to Othello's dark skin; V.II "that whiter skin of hers than snow". Iago tells Brabantio that "an old black ram / is tupping your white ewe" (1.1.88). In Elizabethan discourse, the word "black" could suggest various concepts that extended beyond the physical colour of skin, including a wide range of negative connotations.[13][14]

Ira Aldridgepioneered the prominence of black actors in the role, beginning in 1825 in London.[15]Othello was also frequently performed as an Arab Moor during the 19th century. In the past, Othello would often have been portrayed by a white actor in theatrical makeup. Black American actorPaul Robesonplayed the role from 1930 to 1959. Recent actors who chose to "blacken up" include Laurence Olivier (1965) and Orson Welles. Black English actorWil Johnson,known for his roles inWaking the DeadandEmmerdale,played Othello on stage in 2004. Since the 1960s it has become commonplace to cast a black actor in the character of Othello, although the casting of the role now can come with a political subtext.[16]Patrick Stewarttook the role in theShakespeare Theatre Company's 1997 staging of the play[17][18]and Thomas Thieme, also white, played Othello in a 2007Munich Kammerspielestaging at theRoyal Shakespeare Theatre;both played without blackface, their performances critically acclaimed.[19][20]

20th-century Othellos[edit]

Paul RobesonandUta Hagen(1943)

The most notable American production may beMargaret Webster's 1943 staging starringPaul Robesonas Othello andJosé Ferreras Iago. This production was the first ever in America to feature a black actor playing Othello with an otherwise all-white cast (there had been all-black productions of the play before). It ran for 296 performances, almost twice as long as any other Shakespearean play ever produced onBroadway.[21]Although it was never filmed, it was the first nearly complete performance of a Shakespeare play released on records. Robeson played Othello in three separate productions between 1930 and 1959. He first played it opposite a cast that includedPeggy Ashcroftas Desdemona andRalph Richardsonas Roderigo, and would return to it in 1959 atStratford on Avon.[21]

The American actorWilliam Marshallperformed the title role in at least six productions. His Othello was called byHarold Hobsonof the LondonSunday Times"the best Othello of our time",[22]continuing: "nobler thanTearle,more martial thanGielgud,more poetic thanValk.From his first entry, slender and magnificently tall, framed in a high Byzantine arch, clad in white samite, mystic, wonderful, a figure of Arabian romance and grace, to his last plunging of the knife into his stomach, Mr Marshall rode without faltering the play's enormous rhetoric, and at the end the house rose to him. "[23]Marshall also played Othello in a jazz musical version,Catch My Soul,withJerry Lee Lewisas Iago, in Los Angeles in 1968.[24]His Othello was captured on record in 1964 withJay Robinsonas Iago and on video in 1981 withRon Moodyas Iago. The 1982Broadwaystaging starredJames Earl Jonesas Othello andChristopher Plummeras Iago.

"Othello"(5:05)
James Earl Jonesperforms Othello's Act I, scene iii speech fromShakespeareOthelloat theWhite HouseEvening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word on 12 May 2009.
"Othello"
Audio only version
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WhenLaurence Oliviergave his acclaimed performance of Othello at theRoyal National Theatre(UK) in 1964, he had developed a case of stage fright that was so profound that when he was alone onstage,Frank Finlay(who was playing Iago) would have to stand offstage where Olivier could see him to settle his nerves.[25]This performance was recorded complete on LP, and filmed by popular demand in 1965 (according to a biography of Olivier, tickets for the stage production were notoriously hard to get).The film versionstill holds the record for the mostOscarnominations for acting ever given to a Shakespeare film – Olivier, Finlay,Maggie Smith(as Desdemona) andJoyce Redman(as Emilia, Iago's wife) were all nominated forAcademy Awards.

Actors have alternated the roles of Iago and Othello in productions to stir audience interest since the nineteenth century. Two of the most notable examples of this role swap wereWilliam Charles MacreadyandSamuel PhelpsatDrury Lane(1837) andRichard BurtonandJohn Nevilleat theOld Vic Theatre(1955). WhenEdwin Booth's tour of England in 1880 was not well attended,Henry Irvinginvited Booth to alternate the roles of Othello and Iago with him in London. The stunt renewed interest in Booth's tour.James O'Neillalso alternated the roles of Othello and Iago with Booth.

White actors have continued to take the role. These include British performersPaul Scofieldat theRoyal National Theatrein 1980,Anthony Hopkinsin theBBC Shakespearetelevision production (1981), andMichael Gambonin a stage production at Scarborough directed byAlan Ayckbournin 1990. In 1997,Patrick Stewarttook the role with theShakespeare Theatre Company(Washington, D.C.) in a race-bending performance, in a"photo negative"production of a whiteOthellowith an otherwise all-black cast. Stewart had wanted to play the title role since the age of 14, so he and directorJude Kellyinverted the play so Othello became a comment on a white man entering a black society.[17][18]TwoIndianadaptations of Othello has been released. In 1997,KaliyattamtheMalayalam filmadaptation starredSuresh Gopiplaying the Othello part in the role of Kannan Perumalayan. In 2006,Omkara,theBollywoodversion ofOthello,Othello née Omkara 'Omi' Shukla was played byAjay Devgan.In 2016, baritone and actorDavid Sererotook the role in a Moroccan adaptation in New York.[26][27]

Performance history[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Virginia Mason Vaughan,Performing Blackness on English Stages, 1500-1800,Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. 59.
  2. ^Tom Verde."A Man of Two Worlds".Armaco World.Archived fromthe originalon 13 January 2010.Retrieved11 December2011.January/February 2008.
  3. ^Emily C. Bartels,Making More of the Moor: Aaron, Othello, and Renaissance Refashionings of Race.
  4. ^"Moor, n2",The Oxford English Dictionary,2nd edtn.
  5. ^James WeltonPsychology of Education,University of California, 1911, p. 403.
  6. ^Welton,Psychology of Education(1911), p. 404.
  7. ^Virginia Mason Vaughan,Othello: A Contextual History,Cambridge University Press: 1996, pp. 51–52.
  8. ^Leo Africanus, "The inhabitants are extremely black, having great noses and blabber lips."The History and Description of Africa,Robertypony Brown, ed. Trans. John Pory, 3 vols (London: The Hakluyt Society, 1896), p. 830.
  9. ^E. A. J. Honigmann, ed.Othello.London: Thomas Nelson, 1997, p. 17.
  10. ^Honigmann, p. 15.
  11. ^Michael Neill, ed.Othello(Oxford University Press), 2006, pp. 45–47.
  12. ^Honigmann, pp. 2-3.
  13. ^Doris Adler, "The Rhetoric of Black and White in Othello",Shakespeare Quartertly,25 (1974).
  14. ^Oxford English Dictionary,'Black', 1c.
  15. ^Gates, Henry Louis(31 March 2014)."Who Was the 1st Black Othello?".The Root.p. 2. Archived fromthe originalon 22 April 2016.Retrieved23 April2016.
  16. ^Taylor, Paul (10 January 1996)."A tricky double act".The Independent.London.Archivedfrom the original on 24 May 2022.Retrieved20 October2010.Quoted inHughes, Geoffrey (2009).Political Correctness: A History of Semantics and Culture (The Language Library).Oxford, England: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 231.ISBN978-1-4051-5279-2.
  17. ^ab"The Issue of Race and Othello".Curtain up, DC.Retrieved2 May2010.
  18. ^ab"Othello by William Shakespeare directed by Jude Kelly".The Shakespeare Theatre Company. Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved20 September2008.
  19. ^Michael Billington,"Black or white? Casting can be a grey area",The Guardian(Theatre blog), 5 April 2007.
  20. ^Michael Billington,"Othello"(Theatre review),The Guardian,28 April 2006.
  21. ^abGary Jay Williams,Shakespeare in Sable: A History of Black Shakespearean ActorsbyErrol Hill(review),Shakespeare Quarterly,Vol. 37, No. 2 (Summer, 1986), pp. 276–278;Folger Shakespeare LibraryandGeorge Washington University.
  22. ^Jetmagazine, 30 June 2003.
  23. ^The Independent(London), 6 July 2003.
  24. ^Christgau, Robert.Any Old Way You Choose It,ISBN0-8154-1041-7
  25. ^Laurence Olivier,Confessions of an Actor,Simon and Schuster (1982), p. 262.
  26. ^"DAVID SERERO starring as OTHELLO in a Moroccan Style this June in New York",The Culture News,3 May 2016.
  27. ^"Sephardic OTHELLO to Open in June at Center for Jewish History",Broadway World,17 May 2016.

External links[edit]

  • Quotations related toOthelloat Wikiquote

[1]

  1. ^Mjåset, Christer (1 November 2018)."The good and the bad – epilepsy in film and literature".Tidsskrift for den Norske Legeforening.132(6): 680–3.doi:10.4045/tidsskr.12.0151.ISSN0029-2001.PMID22456154.
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