Othello

... 'In Othello Shakespeare explores the nature of social prejudice'. How far does your reading of the play support this view? Although Shakespeare does display the unusual trait of empathy towards society's 'outcasts'; most of society at that time was plagued by 'social prejudice'. However, prejudice in itself is a loose term for it simply refers to bigotry. Thus, it provides a rather extensive category to examine, for instance, in 'Othello' racism is the most prevalent form of prejudice, yet misogyny and intellectual prejudice is also apparent. Instead, it's the 'social' aspect of the phrase that narrows the focus down a little as now it is apparent that the prejudice is not confined to any particular person, the problem being of course, that the only way for Shakespeare to portray such prejudices is through the medium of individuals. Those with a higher status within society are generally perceived to be those who

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