A Turkish Point of View

"In the 1608 sequel to that masque, the Masque of Beauty, the Moorish masquers are "converted" from black to fair by the virtuous power of the monarch" (150)

"If virtue no delighted beauty lack,
Your son-in-law is far more fair than black" (Othello, 23)

How much of a role did the historical aspect play within the making of Othello?  Could it be that Shakespeare may have been inspired by these historical events and plays of that time?



           There are many lenses to use when reading Othello, but one that I have never even thought of divulging myself in is the historical aspect of Othello (except when it came to the audience).  When reading this criticism of Othello in the historical religious aspect, more doors have seemed to appear out of thin air because it fits into the outline of Othello so well.  What could this mean?  Usually when an author writes, they use things that are most familiar to them, so their surroundings would only appear perfect to use within their creations.  Yet with Shakespeare, it always seems as if there are so many more aspects, that other lenses are masked by the outer picture.  But did Shakespeare do this on purpose? So many of his works appear to be sown into perfection with each word that it is almost impossible not to believe that he included some of these aspects on purpose.  For example, it can not be just a coincidence that the two lines above that speak on "fair" and "black" match almost perfectly as a play on words.  Unfortunately, I have yet to complete my time machine to ask him all of these important questions, but this lens almost makes me want to go back and re-read Othello to try to find many more historical tidbits.  I also found that when the author talked about when Othello was having an epileptic fit very interesting.  I've always tried to figure out why Othello had his fit at the exact moment of finding out of Desdemona's supposed "treachery".  Vitkus explains it as a fantastical fit, where he is replicating the sexual act between Desdemona and Cassio.  I've never thought of the fit in that way, which opens more intriguing questions.