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Article SHAKSPERE'S OTHELLO. ← Page 7 of 7
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Shakspere's Othello.
" that the popular notion of a Moor was somewhat confused in Shakspere ' s time , and that the descendants of the proud Arabs , who hacl borne sovereign sway in Europe (' men of royal siege' ) , and , what is more , had filled an age of comparative darkness with the light of their poetry ' and their science , were confounded with the uncivilized African , the
despised slave . " This probable confusion prevalent in that age is quite sufficient to explain the fact of Shakspere ' s having placed a negro ' s head upon the shoulders of " one of the most noble ancl accomplished of the proud children of Ommiacles and the Abassides . " At the same time we ojbserve , that this is no legitimate subject for dramatic criticism : in
this point of view Ave have merely to deal with the poet ' s own conception of the character , and to take this as the standard by whicli to judge its delineation : the drama , as a work of art , is simply amenable to the rules of art . And this is an instructive instance of the fact that artistic truth may consist
with accidental errors which lie beyond the pale of art ; the character of Othello may be in itself perfect , —faultless ; and yet , when a nationality is affixed to it , it may violate the physical and moral laws of nature displayed in the distinction of races . This is a very minor point of mere speculation , not of criticism ; still it is open to discussion . The novelist speaks
of the blackness ( negrezza ) of the Moor , ancl that Shakspere had the outward figure of a black present to his thoughts appears more than probable , from numerous allusions in the play;—such as "thick lips , " "devil , " "sooty-bosom , " " more fair than black . " " Haply for I am black , " Othello says expressly ; and again , " My name .... is now begrimed ancl
black , as mine own face . " Nothing can be more conclusive than these expressions , ancl the tradition of the stage ( there is reason to believe ) has uniformly represented Othello as a black from Shakspere ' s day to the present . Nevertheless , this in no degree affects the character of the Moor , for the reasons just stated . It is needless to remark on the differences in the
concluding portion of the tragedy and novel ; amongst others , Shakspere has omitted the ensign ' s accusation of the Moor to the senate : lago ' s vengeance on Othello had reached its culminating point , ancl his task of villany was perfected ; to have afterwards repeated his revenge in a mitigated form woulcl have marred the structure of the drama , —the epos perfected , the curtain falls . VOL . III . 2 Y
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Shakspere's Othello.
" that the popular notion of a Moor was somewhat confused in Shakspere ' s time , and that the descendants of the proud Arabs , who hacl borne sovereign sway in Europe (' men of royal siege' ) , and , what is more , had filled an age of comparative darkness with the light of their poetry ' and their science , were confounded with the uncivilized African , the
despised slave . " This probable confusion prevalent in that age is quite sufficient to explain the fact of Shakspere ' s having placed a negro ' s head upon the shoulders of " one of the most noble ancl accomplished of the proud children of Ommiacles and the Abassides . " At the same time we ojbserve , that this is no legitimate subject for dramatic criticism : in
this point of view Ave have merely to deal with the poet ' s own conception of the character , and to take this as the standard by whicli to judge its delineation : the drama , as a work of art , is simply amenable to the rules of art . And this is an instructive instance of the fact that artistic truth may consist
with accidental errors which lie beyond the pale of art ; the character of Othello may be in itself perfect , —faultless ; and yet , when a nationality is affixed to it , it may violate the physical and moral laws of nature displayed in the distinction of races . This is a very minor point of mere speculation , not of criticism ; still it is open to discussion . The novelist speaks
of the blackness ( negrezza ) of the Moor , ancl that Shakspere had the outward figure of a black present to his thoughts appears more than probable , from numerous allusions in the play;—such as "thick lips , " "devil , " "sooty-bosom , " " more fair than black . " " Haply for I am black , " Othello says expressly ; and again , " My name .... is now begrimed ancl
black , as mine own face . " Nothing can be more conclusive than these expressions , ancl the tradition of the stage ( there is reason to believe ) has uniformly represented Othello as a black from Shakspere ' s day to the present . Nevertheless , this in no degree affects the character of the Moor , for the reasons just stated . It is needless to remark on the differences in the
concluding portion of the tragedy and novel ; amongst others , Shakspere has omitted the ensign ' s accusation of the Moor to the senate : lago ' s vengeance on Othello had reached its culminating point , ancl his task of villany was perfected ; to have afterwards repeated his revenge in a mitigated form woulcl have marred the structure of the drama , —the epos perfected , the curtain falls . VOL . III . 2 Y