Shakespeare‘s Othello: A Representation of the Clash between the Orient and the Occiden

Shakespeare‘s Othello: A Representation of the Clash between the Orient and the Occiden

Toker, Alpaslan
Karakuzu, Melih

This paper attempts to trace how Shakespeare‘s Othello reflects the deeprooted Eurocentric ideology of the Elizabethan people and show how such views created distinctions like self vs. other, master vs. slave, civilized vs. savage, white vs. black, good vs. evil, strong vs. weak, occident vs. orient. These views had such a deep impact that many writers have portrayed the Europeans as superior and the ‗self‘ as belonging to the ‗centre‘ or ‗Occident,‘ whereas people in far-away lands are shown as inferior and the ‗other‘ belonging to the ‗margin‘ or ‗Orient‘. In Elizabethan England, African men were regarded as illiterate, barbaric, lustful womanizers who were the white man‘s property and apt to be used as servants. These views have been handed down century after century. However, in the play Othello Shakespeare breaks away from these beliefs and introduces an African man who disregards such stereotypical views and thus shocking his audience with this deviation from the norm. He presents a reality that African men are indeed polite, educated, loyal and faithful husbands. Shakespeare even makes Othello more prejudiced against his own culture than against another race

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2011-05

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