Othello's Racial Identity

Determining for sure what race Othello belonged to is no simple task.  During the Elizabethan era there were no clear distinctions between Moors and Negroes.  Shakespeare's description of Othello as black cannot be accepted without some examination.  This characteristic could refer to the villainous nature of the character or merely the character's brunette complexion.  Passages that refer to Othello's physical appearance in Book 1 and 2 include:

"the thick lips" (I.i.66)

Iago calls Othello an "old black ram" (I.i.88)

Brabantio refers to Othello's "sooty bosom" (I.ii. 70)

Iago to Cassio refers to Othello as "black Othello" (II.iii.33)

Other passages that do not describe Othello's physical appearance are also important in understanding Othello's identity.  In I.i.90) Iago calls Othello the devil. Elizabethan superstition believed that evil spirits sometimes took the form of Negroes or peoples from Africa.  The suggestion that Othello used charms to seduce Desdemona also points to his Moorish heritage since they associated witchcraft with the Moors.