Hello everyone and welcome to a lesson today exploring race in the play "Othello." I'm Ms. Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

Our learning outcome for today is to be able to evaluate the significance of race in the play "Othello." We have four key words today.

They are dislocate.

Dislocate means move something from its place or position.

So you may have heard of someone having dislocated their bone or joint, for example, dislocated their shoulder, and that means the shoulder has moved from its usual place in the body.

But also, we can take the word dislocate to mean that a character has been moved from their position, perhaps having moved from a position of high status and authority to a position of low status and powerlessness.

Prejudice, an unfair opinion about a person or group not based on actual evidence.

We're going to be exploring prejudiced views of characters in "Othello" and how these prejudice views may reflect the same views and beliefs of the time periods in which the play was written.

Particularly, we'll be looking at racial prejudice.

Xenophobia.

Xenophobia is extreme dislike or fear of foreigners.

If we break that word down, xeno means stranger in Greek, and phobia means fear in Greek.

So altogether we have fear of strangers, and fear of foreigners and anyone that's new to a population, potentially.

Anyone that's come from outside.

We're going to be exploring how xenophobia was prevalent in Jacobean England and how this translates into the play "Othello" as well.

And insular.

Insular means ignorant of cultures, ideas, or people outside of one's own experience.

Bear in mind that the insularity of a society can link to its xenophobia, because if a society is ignorant of other cultures, other ideas, and other people outside of its own experiences, so if they are ignorant of anyone that's different to them, this may well lead to this prejudice and dislike of anyone that is different to them.

With ignorance, we get prejudice, but with openness, we get acceptance.

Pause the video and jot down those keywords.

So in today's lesson, we'll first be exploring the context of race in the Jacobean era, so we can see what kind of audiences and beliefs were surrounding this play "Othello." And in the second learning cycle, we'll be tracking the theme of race in "Othello." So let's start off by looking at the context of race.

In order to explore race in the play "Othello," we must revisit the context in which it was written and performed.

Remember, this play was written in the Elizabethan era and performed in the Jacobean era.

This was a time where people held beliefs that are very different to the beliefs that we hold now.

So bear in mind that these views are ignorant, and we do not tolerate views such as these now.

First of all though, what do you remember about race and beliefs about race in the Elizabethan/Jacobean era? Pause the video and answer that question.

Let's go through what you may have said.

In Jacobean England, society was insular.

People rarely left the confines of their own village, meaning that people did not often see people that were different to them, or interact with people that were different to them, which makes them narrow minded and rather ignorant of other cultures and religions and races.

Fear of outsiders or otherness and xenophobia were prevalent in the Jacobean era.

So people did feel fear of outsiders or foreigners, of anyone that was different to them.

Remember earlier how we said that insularity can lead to prejudice and xenophobic attitudes.

Most of the public watching Shakespeare's "Othello" were unlikely to have met a Moor.

They would never have been exposed potentially to an African person.

Their idea of what a Moor was would've relied on historical depictions.

The symbolic association of darkness with sin was embedded in cultural consciousness, and people of darker skin were believed to be lustful and immoral.

This is an extremely prejudiced idea and unfair judgement that Shakespeare exposes in his play, particularly through the characters of Brabantio and Iago, who voice this prejudiced idea.

Before "Othello," Black characters in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama were often villains.

The presentation of a noble Moor was new.

So remember, society today would cast Black and white characters equally as protagonists and villains, because someone's race does not tell us anything about their morality.

What that means is someone's race does not tell us whether they are a good or bad person.

Being a good or bad person and having good morals has nothing to do with someone's skin colour, race, culture, religion.

But as we said, the Jacobean and Elizabethan era was a time period in which people had very different views on race than we do now.

Let's answer this question to check your understanding of the information we've just gone through.

True or false, people in Jacobean England were well accustomed to and tolerant of people of different races and backgrounds? Pause the video and discuss that question.

Well done if you said false.

People in Jacobean England were not well accustomed to and tolerant of people of different races and backgrounds.

Now justify your answer.

The reason people were not tolerant and accustomed to people of different races and backgrounds is because society was insular and there was a fear of otherness.

Remember, that means that people in Jacobean England rarely left the confines of their own city, town, or village, meaning that they didn't often interact with anyone that was different to them.

So having someone that was different come in to their town made them fearful, and that contributed to their prejudice of outsiders.

Now, answer this question.

Which idea was embedded in the cultural consciousness of Jacobean England? Pause the video and answer that question.

Darkness and dark skin was associated with moral deviance in Jacobean England.

As we've mentioned already, this is an ignorant perspective and one that we do not tolerate now.

Now, I want you to complete the table to show how different contextual information is explored in "Othello." So on the left hand side of the table, we have four beliefs or ideas surrounding race in the Jacobean era.

I want you to write down on the right hand side of the table how each of these are shown in the play "Othello," because the play and the characters in the play often reflect the beliefs of the time periods in which the play was written.

So pause the video and complete the table to show how each of those contextual points is explored in "Othello." You could write a moment or a quote.

Pause the video and off you go.

We can see how Shakespeare references this symbolic association of darkness with sin that was present in the Elizabethan era through the character of Brabantio who accuses Othello of witchcraft, and stealing and corrupting his daughter.

Brabantio assumes that just because of Othello's skin colour, he would be a sinful and immoral character, which is not the case.

In fact, we see Shakespeare subverting the Jacobean belief that darkness was associated with sin, because Othello is introduced as the most noble character of the play.

He is noble in the way he won Desdemona over.

He's noble in the way he respects and treats her.

And he's noble in how he serves Venice.

Now, next, how do we see the fear of outsiders or xenophobia in "Othello?" We see it through how the Venetian society views the Ottomans as outsiders and enemies.

Othello is also singled out as the epithet Moor, which shows how people treated him differently because of his skin colour.

Also, Brabantio is dismayed that his daughter has married the Moor.

We can see here how Brabantio doesn't welcome Othello into his family and is worried that his daughter has married Othello because of Othello's outsider status.

How does Shakespeare show that people of dark skin were believed in the Jacobean era to be inferior? Shakespeare shows that through the character of Iago who dehumanises Othello, describing him as an animal.

And lastly, how does Shakespeare show that Othello is a character the audience would not have been accustomed to? Othello is revealed to be humble, eloquent, and virtuous in act one, scene three, not villainous as the audience may expect.

Remember, the audience would've expected Othello to be a villain because of all the previous plays, productions, and stories that they'd watched and read before, which would have depicted dark skin characters as villains.

However, Shakespeare's "Othello" subverts this by casting Othello, the darkest skinned character, as the noble tragic hero.

Now, let's move on to tracking the theme of race in "Othello." Discourse on race is prevalent throughout the whole play.

It is sometimes explored via light and dark imagery.

I want you to discuss how is race referenced from the beginning to end of the play.

Pause the video and discuss that question.

Let's look at some examples of how race is referred to throughout the play.

As we've mentioned, at the beginning of the play, Iago shows his prejudice against Othello on the basis of Othello's race.

Brabantio also shows prejudice towards Othello on the basis of Othello's race, saying that Desdemona would have not fallen for Othello naturally because of his race and outsider status.

Again, Iago talks about Othello as being led by emotion and not loyal, based on his race.

Next, we see Othello internalising prejudice views on race.

He suggests that the reason Desdemona may have been unfaithful is because he's Black and has not those soft parts of conversation.

So we can see how his insecurity about being an outsider and being Black is brought in to the play at the middle, in the middle of the play.

We also see Shakespeare subverting the idea that darker skin means being more sinful when Iago, being the fairer skinned character, actually acts in the more sinful way.

Again, we see Othello internalise the idea that to be Black means to be sinful, as he says that Desdemona is now impure, and that reflects his own face colour.

And finally, we see at the end of the play Othello refer to himself as a Turk who beat a Venetian.

But at the same time, Othello kills the Turk and kills himself, perhaps showing how he has been damaged by these beliefs and racial prejudices.

What does each example here suggest about attitudes on race? And how does each example affect Othello? Pause the video and discuss that question.

The first quote shows how Othello is dehumanised on the basis of his race at the beginning of the play.

The next quote shows how outsiders are clearly met with hostility and suspicion, as Brabantio does not think Othello won Desdemona over naturally.

Next, Iago makes a stereotype that the whole of one race are savage, disloyal, and governed by emotions.

In the middle of the play, "Othello" begins to internalise racial prejudice, as he says that Desdemona's affair may be due to him being Black.

Next, Iago subverts the stereotype that dark skin equates to sin, as he is white and the most sinful character.

Next, Othello associates being Black with sin, more impurity and being tainted by the end of the play.

And finally, Othello recognises himself as the outsider and enemy to Venice.

He wants to rid himself of this status.

As the play progresses, Shakespeare shows how attitudes on race dislocate Othello.

At the beginning of the play, Othello is a confident, respected, and powerful character.

By the end of the play, he is weak and pitiful.

We could argue that Othello reaches this tragic end due to attitudes on race.

We could say attitudes on race causes Othello's fault from grace.

Let's check your understanding.

What happens to Othello as the play progresses? Pause the video and answer that question.

Well done if you said as the play progresses, Othello internalises the other character's prejudices about race.

He begins to believe exactly what they said about him at the beginning.

His insecurity grows on the basis of race, and he now associates darkness with evil.

I now want you to write an answer to the question using the evidence you have gathered.

Your question is, how do attitudes on race gradually dislocate Othello? You could write about how Brabantio and Iago's racial remarks at the start of the play could set a backdrop of insecurity.

How Othello's outsider of status makes him more vulnerable to Iago machinations.

How Othello's jealousy may be intertwined with insecurity of being an outsider.

How Othello learns to internalise other people's racist ideologies.

And how Othello's dying words reflect his confirmed status as an outsider in society, and wanting to vanquish this part of himself.

So let me repeat your question is, how do attitudes on race gradually dislocate Othello? Use all the pieces of evidence we explored in the explanation part of the lesson to help you with this.

Pause the video and write your answer.

Let's go through a possible written response.

How do attitudes on race gradually dislocate Othello? Although at the beginning of the play, Othello is confident in his status, being of royal siege, and takes pride in his military merit, "My service shall out-tongue his complaints," his pride is poignantly offsetted by Iago's and Brabantio's prejudice comments that both dehumanise him, "barbary horse, black ram" and villainize him, "abused, stolen, corrupted." These comments foreshadow Othello's tragic fate, as it is clear that characters perceive him as an outsider, regardless of how noble he is.

It is his outsider status that makes him more vulnerable to Iago's machinations, as Othello is socially inexperienced in Venice.

Indeed, Iago acknowledges Othello being particularly suggestible, having an open nature.

It could even be said that Othello is particularly gullible to the claim that his wife has been unfaithful, due to insecurity based on his race.

For example, he posits in act three, scene three, that perhaps it is because he is Black and have not those soft parts of conversation.

This is the first sign that Othello has internalised other characters' racist ideologies.

This is intensified when he equates Desdemona's moral impurity with his Black and begrim'd face, thus succumbing to the stereotype that to be Black means to be tainted and impure.

By the end, Othello is no longer confident in his social status.

He accepts himself as an outsider, comparing himself to the malignant Turk who beat a Venetian.

At the same moment, he kills the Turk and himself, suggesting he's ashamed of his dishonourable status as an outsider and wants to rid himself of this part of him.

Overall, some people may say that it was not Othello's jealousy that led to his downfall, but that attitudes on race dislocated him the most.

One thing that's really good about this paragraph is how it tracks Othello's downfall alongside the theme of race.

So it allows us to see how racial prejudice contributes to Othello's downfall by looking at what Othello is like at the beginning of the play and how he is by the end.

And how we can consider racial prejudice as a factor that contributes to Othello's tragic end.

I now want you to reread your own paragraph and see if there's anything that you could add to improve your response.

Pause the video and reread your work.

Great job on your writing today.

Here's what we've learnt.

Racial prejudice and xenophobia were prevalent in the Jacobean era.

Othello's racial identity is undefined, but being an outsider makes him vulnerable to Iago's machinations.

Before "Othello," Black characters in Elizabeth and drama were often villains.

The presentation of a noble Moor was new.

And imagery of black and white, light and dark is regular, suggesting colour is important in the play.

Thanks for joining me in today's lesson.

I hope to see you in another one soon.