The Representation of Race and Otherness in The Tempest, Othello and The Merchant of Venice

Abstract

This study is an attempt to show the representation of race and otherness in Shakespeare’s plays The Tempest, Othello and The Merchant of Venice. During Shakespeare’s time most of his plays portrayed themes of race, colonization, ethnicity and language. Shakespeare represented colonial power by showing the problems regarding race, minor ethnicity, and language. The paper will project a view to represent how by using racism as a weapon, people were dominated and discriminated against. Shakespeare highlighted important issues like racism in his plays and portrayed the racial prejudices that existed in the society. He wrote about the racial problems in European society and the superiority they showed to the people of other races. The paper will project how racism is represented in the three plays. Racism is an important aspect represented in the play Othello. The other two plays The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice also represent the issues of racial discrimination, racial inequality and the rule of imperialism. Skin color and religion are two important aspects of racism which are portrayed in Shakespeare’s plays. This paper will explore the imperial desire of the colonizers and the racial difference present in the characters of Shakespeare’s plays. Another aspect which will be projected in this essay is the representation of minor ethnicity or otherness in these three plays of Shakespeare. Both Othello and The Tempest show the portrayal of otherness and how some characters faced identity crisis. This paper will show the representation of minor ethnicity in the plays and how they are treated as strangers also in the play The Merchant of Venice. These three plays show the process of othering and the immorality of the people in the society. This essay will relate the postcolonial ideas of racial prejudices and identity crisis by relating to some postcolonial theories. The paper will discuss how racism and otherness existed in Shakespeare’s Othello, The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice and how Shakespeare portrayed the social issues in his plays.