Exploring the Theatrical Representations of the Moor: A Socio-cultural Critique of William Shakespeare’s Othello

Abstract

This paper deals with William Shakespeare’s intended presentation of Othello by juxtaposing the way several actors of different time periods have chosen to represent the character.  The subject has been approached from multiple viewpoints. Firstly, an attempt has been made to address the question, why Shakespeare at all undertook the task of writing a tragedy on The Moor of Venice. A brief overview is offered to shed light on how the English people perceived the moors in the Elizabethan period, and how travel books have represented the moors in different ways.  The aspect of Othello’s racial identity is addressed through the behaviour of other characters in the play from the various references dotted along the text. The paper then goes on to raise the question of Othello’s theatrical presentation and how several actors from different time periods have presented the character in distinct ways. Towards this, the text is analysed and critiqued from a post-colonial perspective. The dearth of detailed description of the theatrical representations of Othello through several ages further makes this study very pertinent.