Why cultural criticism is best for interpreting othello

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Why Cultural Criticism is the Best for Interpreting Othello
Culture can be defined as the way of living of people. It is the customs and traditions that exist in a particular society. Many analysts and critics approach Shakespeare’s play in a cultural and racial perspective, as it supports Iago’s means to destroy Othello and also the plot of the play. Culture is one of the primary reasons that contributes to Othello’s tragedy. This excerpt will mainly analyze and criticize Othello through a cultural lens. Cultural criticism entails different perspectives of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, and sexuality.
Othello is engraved in hate, racism, deception, and pride. Apparently, this play remains relevant because even after centuries, human beings are still susceptible to the traits mentioned above. This is because sexism and racism are still present in the recent times. These traits seem to be natural in humans as is love and is evidenced by Iago’s words, “…you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse you’ll have your nephews neigh to you; you’ll have coursers for cousins and gennets for germans” (Shakespeare et. al. 11 1i110). In this context, Iago was insulting Brabantio in a bid to convince him that his daughter was stolen from him by Othello, who was a ‘moor,’ who is often assumed to be from Africa, even though Shakespeare himself has not explicitly stated so. This proves the trait of racism during those periods.
Vividly, Othello was written during the middle age European Renaissance which takes place in Italy, where renaissance started.

During this period, there were fundamental aspects of philosophy, humanism, achievement trust and potential. Therefore, many creators were inspired by classical writings written in the dark ages. In this sense, William Shakespeare was inspired by the classic works and was thus was an icon of the Renaissance. Othello, being among his works, was based on the Renaissance values and customs. Therefore, Shakespeare portrayed the characters in Othello to resemble or represent the social environments and the culture of the Renaissance Italy (King N.p).
This particular Shakespearian play had a plethora of cultures that included the African, Arab and the Venetian cultures. This evidenced by Othello who is a former Muslim African Arab that marries a Venetian woman. Othello, therefore, tries to adapt to two different cultures, that is; the African culture which is his origin and the culture of Venice where he assumes the role of a general in the Venice military. The Arab culture is portrayed when Othello referenced the Arab traditions in his suicide speech where he mentions ‘Aleppo,’ ‘medicinal gum’ and ‘turbaned Turk.’ The Venetian culture is portrayed when Iago tries to convince Othello that it is in the customs of the Venetian women to be dishonest and disloyal to their husbands. Moreover, the African culture is represented by the jealousy of Othello, as most writers claim that southern men tend to be jealous and have lust.
While others might claim that other critical lenses are ideal for analyzing this work, it is apparent that cultural lens is the most evident in this Shakespearian works. Their claims might be so because many people tend to think that culture is not the primary agenda of the play. Nevertheless, since this work is mostly based on the renaissance periods in Italy, it is apparent that the author tries to communicate the social and cultural significance during those periods in Italy.
As evidenced in the essay, culture is one of the leading agendas that the author is trying to communicate. This is portrayed through the character, the setting and the plot of the work by Shakespeare. Culture and race are therefore one of the primary reasons that led to the ruination of Othello. In this manner, culture is significant in this play and can, therefore, be used as an essential perspective in the analysis of this particular work.
Works Cited
King, Walter.Cultural & Ethnic Criticism of Othello. prezi.com. N. p., 2018. Web. 8 Mar. 2018. https://prezi.com/f6cyyr7hl68t/cultural-ethnic-criticism-of-othello/Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. New York: Washington Square Press, 1993. Print