Attitude Toward Turks in Othello

Papp and Kirkland note the antipathy many in England felt toward foreigners (and, indeed, the British are still considered to be xenophobic in some degree), and the authors offer a reason for this:

For England, unlike the american nation it eventually spawned, took no pride in becoming a melting pot for many cultures. Even though Elizabethans were living in an age when explorers, scholars, merchants, and writers were flinging open the doors to other cultures, most people preferred to hang back, tarrying on the well-trodden thresholds of ignorance and fear (Papp and Kirkland 49).

In addition, there was always a certain sense of superiority that colored how the British viewed others:

Hand in hand with the Elizabethan people's provincial outlook went the certainty that they were better than everyone else. Once the English had more or less settle the religious question, built up a powerful navy, and reestablished themselves as a power to be reckoned with in international

. . .
nglish until 1753. One of his stories, called a novel though it is actually a collection of stories, was "Disdemona of Venice and the Moorish Captain," from the author's Gli Hecatommithi (the story is from Decade 3, Story 7), and it served as the model for William shakespeare's Othello. The story and the play both center on Othello, the Moor who is also a brave soldier and leader, and his wife, Disdemona in the original, Desdemona in the play. In both instances, a trusted underling uses his wiles to create jealousy in the moor and to cause him to destroy his wife and himself. There are differences between the villains in the two pieces, the Ensign in Cinthio, and Iago in Shakespeare. Neely states that Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi probably provided Shakespeare with its theme and organizing principle as well as with its plot: The battle of the sexes in marriage is its central motif and dominates the frame, subject matter, and arrangement of the tales (Neely 82). The political element in Shakespeare reflects the concerns of his own time regarding turkish incursions and challenges and also reflects attitudes about the Turks. Othello is a Moor, and the British did not trust people from Africa nay more than from Turkey. However, th
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Papp Kirkland, Ii97-98 Duke, Gli Hecatommithi, Turk IIi147, Othello Emilia, Moor British, Othello Moor, Ottoman Empire, Moors Turks, Shakespeare's Othello, papp kirkland, william shakespeare's othello, shakespeare's othello, william shakespeare's, moors turks, gli hecatommithi, othello moor, makes attitudes, fair black, ottoman empire, prejudices blackness,
Approximate Word count = 1249
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Attitude Toward Turks in Othello