Othello Reflects the Context and Values of its Time Essay

Texts and their appropriations reflect the context and values of their times. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello, the evolution of the attitudes held by Elizabethan audiences and those held by contemporary audiences can be seen through the context of the female coupled with the context of racism. The role of the female has developed from being submissive and â€Å"obedient† in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting. The racism of the first text is overtly xenophobic and natural, whilst the â€Å"moor† is unnatural whereas the updated context portrays Othello’s race as natural and racism as unnatural. Therefore these examples show how Shakespeare’s Othello, and it’s†¦show more content†¦Through a reading of the modern context of the female within Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello there is an analysis into how the context and value s of the Elizabethan era have changed into those of the 21st century. Immediately there is an update in context and values with the absence of the father figure. This absence can be seen as a metaphor which Sax used to show the update in context, in that women’s liberation and independence has evolved so that society deems women as a equal to men and thus by extension the patriarchy personified within Brabantio is non existent. Othello’s questions why they â€Å"don’t talk about the past and who they have been with.† Dessie replies â€Å" I am a blank sheet waiting for you to write your name on me.† The image of a sheet is a symbol for her purity and innocence, showing her chastity and faithfulness to Othello and thus depicting her as the angel within the angel/whore dichotomy. However within this scene Othello is kneeling shown through a high angle shot looking down on him whilst Desdemona is portrayed as dominant in his questioning of her chastit y with a low angle shot of her face. This is because the new context transforms the value of women’s independence and freedom. 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