Shakespeare is a famous and well-known Renaissance writer, but we still study his pieces.

This is due to his interest in talking about different issues that even today, 400 years later,
are still being discussed about. Shakespeare's careful portrayal of Othello as an outsider in
his well-known play will be examined and analysed in this essay, which will go further into
the global issue of racism, viewed by the culture, and societal perceptions of the time that
contribute Othello’s actions throughout the play. We will investigate the layers of alienation
and otherness that Shakespeare deftly combines into the story, illuminating the larger
consequences of Othello's outsider status through a close analysis of Othello's character,
and interactions with other characters.

In the first act, during scene 1 we can see how Shakespeare portrays Othello just in the
beginning of the play, as an outsider, with stereotypes such as the overly sexualised view of
black people in that time. The scene starts in a public place. The scene's location is crucial
since it takes place on the streets of Venice, a public area, and the characters are having an
argument about Othello and Desdemona's marriage. We can see quotes like: ‘an old black
ram is tupping your white ewe’, and ‘the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor’, both said by Iago.
In these quotations can be observed how Shakespeare by using a derogatory language, as
we can see in “old black ram” and the use of the word Moor, is introducing Othello, because
of his race, as a foreigner for the whole play. Besides, Iago portrays Othello over sexualised,
which may symbolise another insecurity for this tragic hero, and it will contribute to the flaw
that will make his downfall. We can observe a few more quotations in this first scene, such
as: ‘your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs’ - Iago. Othello is
pictured with a bestial and animalistic nature, and the use of the metaphor may be in order
to emphasize, again, the stereotype of black men being overly sexual. Furthermore, we have
another quotation to look at: ‘the devil will make a grandsire of you’, - Iago. Iago is trying to
present Othello as an outsider, an unusual and dangerous figure who threatens the status of
the city and the order established, by linking him to the devil, playing on the racial and
cultural anxieties at that time. As can be seen, in this first scene, Shakespeare is using Iago in
order to portray Othello as an outsider; and this will help him put in motion his plan, since
Othello will be conditioned by his feeling as a foreigner.

As we go through the play, during act 3, scene 3, quotations referring Othello as a foreigner
can be seen. In this scene, Iago is starting to put into practice his plan to defeat Cassio. Iago
says to Othello: ‘good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of
their souls’. He is talking about how important reputation and power were in that time.
Using a metaphor, and comparing jewellery with the reputation, may symbolise how fragile
the reputation is and how easily can be distorted something with a high value. He used this
metaphor, in order to create Othello an insecurity about his reputation; how he gained it
with his work in the army as a general, and how easily it can go because of his race. During
this whole scene, we can see how Iago plants the “seed” of jealousy in Othello’s mind. As we
know, Iago comes from a lower class than Othello, but he has the power over him.
Shakespeare did that, in order to show us how the ethnicity of Othello, and his race are
internalised insecurities that made him like that, portraying Othello again as an outsider.
With this portraying, Shakespeare is making Othello prone to believe Iago and be jealous of
Cassio. At the end of this scene, there is a soliloquy made by Othello, in which we can
understand his deepest inner thoughts. There is a quote: ‘haply, for I am black’. The word
"haply" in this context refers to perhaps or by chance, and it seems that Othello is
considering the possibility that Desdemona's apparent betrayal of him is due to his race. In
light of his marriage to a white woman, Othello's knowledge of his racial difference and how
it can be seen by others is seen in this sentence. Othello's use of the word "black" here is not
just a description of his physical appearance but also carries symbolic weight. In the society
depicted in "Othello," racial differences are often associated with negative stereotypes and
prejudices. Othello's blackness sets him apart in the predominantly white Venetian society,
making him an outsider.

Finally, at the end of the play we have a final speech from Othello. In his final speech,
Othello expresses his tragic fate, his self-awareness, and the social circumstances that have
contributed to his downfall in a moving way. It is a potent way to end the play, emphasising
the negative effects of jealousy and what it means to be an outsider in a world full of
prejudice and dishonesty. There are some references in the speech, such as Judean and
Arabian. These reference to the other, to the foreign, the exotic. They are all beyond Venice,
and Shakespeare use this to remind us of the wisely he got because he is from an exotic
laud, the way he loved Desdemona. After the whole play portraying him as an outsider in a
bad view and using it to create the flaw that will make him kill Desdemona as a tragic hero,
in the end, Shakespeare uses it to remind us that at the end of the day he is a human.
Shakespeare brought the calmness and the dignity from Othello, to respect him and to feel
pity for him, using his race and the feeling of foreigner he has.

In conclusion, Shakespeare's tragic tragedy "Othello" depicts Othello as an outsider, offering

a brilliant examination of the nuances of societal prejudice, cultural disparities, and the
deadly force of jealousy. In addition to his racial and cultural differences within Venetian
society, Othello's tragic flaw—his vulnerability to manipulation—further solidifies his
outsider status. Throughout the play, Othello struggles with the consequences of his
outsider status, leading to a poignant and self-reflective final speech. Furthermore, in
Othello’s final speech, Shakespeare invites the audience to consider the larger implications
of discrimination and the negative impact it may have on people and communities. Othello's
terrible destiny serves as a warning on the perils of maintaining stereotypes and excluding
people who are thought to be different.