The Moor in the Works of William Shakespeare Essay -- Biography Biogra

The Sources and Representations of the Moor in the Works of Shakespeare      Ã‚  Ã‚   One theme consistently reemployed throughout Shakespeare's plays is that of the Other. The Other is usually characterized as a character that is somehow separated, stigmatized, or noted as being different from the mainstream ideal. For the Elizabethan England of Shakespeare's time, it may have been a self-defensive maneuver against the encroachment of something which threatened too close to home (Bartels 450). Bryant lists several methods used to employ this convention of the Other: race such as that of Shylock and Aaron, nationality as in Iachimo, bastardy such as the characters Don John and Edmund, social status such as that belonging to Iago, and deformity, for example, Richard III (35). Not every Other is characterized as evil, but nonetheless depicted as being somehow different or separated from society. Characters such as Malvolio, Faulconbridge, Macbeth, and Othello are of this subdivision.       One sect of Otherness is that of race. During this time, England seems at first glance to be separated culturally from any area of the Ottoman Empire. However, this assumption proves to be false. There are four characters in Shakespeare's plays, Caliban, Othello, the Prince of Morocco, and Aaron, who are of distinctly African, or Moorish heritage. Whether these persons were of Negro, Berber, Spanish, or Arab descent is definitely in question. The use of the term Moor also is of importance. This word is used to describe Aaron and Othello, but not to describe Caliban or the Prince of Morocco, both who come from areas classically referred to as being Moorish. The origin of the word Moor comes from the word mauri. Mauri refers to the Berbers w... ...ntic Review. 55.4 (1990): 1-17. Bryant, J.A. Jr. "Aaron and the Pattern of Shakespeare's Villains." Renaissance Papers. (1984): 29-36. Burshatin, Israel. "The Moor in Text: Metaphor, Emblem, and Silence." Critical Inquiry. 12.1 (1985): 98-118. D'Amico, Jack. The Moor in English Renaissance Drama. Tampa: University of South Florida Press, 1991. Everett, Barbara. " 'Spanish' Othello: The Making of Shakespeare's Moor." Shakespeare Survey. 35 (1982): 101-112. Jones, Eldred. The Elizabethan Image of Africa. Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1971. Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Kenneth Myrick. New York: Signet, 1965. ---. Othello. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Bantam Books, 1988. ---. The Tempest. Ed. Charles W. Eliot. New York: P.F. Collier & Sons, 1969. ---. Titus Andronicus. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Signet, 1964.