"Othello" vs. "The Tempest"

Paper Summary:

This paper claims that, at first glance, Shakespeare's "Othello" and "The Tempest" could not be more unlike. "Othello" is a tale rooted very firmly in the here-and-now, the actual city of Venice, an important and central location for the Renaissance man. "The Tempest" is a fantasy taking place on a "marvelous" island. However, the paper explains, a closer look reveals that Venice, too, is marvelous and is, moreover, the perfect link between the civilized and the savage. It is no wonder then that the story of the 'noble savage' in the character of "Othello" was placed there. Nor is it any wonder that the less noble savage, Caliban, is found on an island that, while not straddling the literal old and new world orders, nonetheless bears representatives of each. The paper contends that both "Othello" and "The Tempest" are indeed exemplary of the statement, "Europeans contact with people of other cultures during the Renaissance period had a disorienting effect, as it raised the question of who was truly 'civilized,' and who was truly 'savage'." Shakespeare seems to answer that question in both plays, often in ways that may, at first, like the true meaning of Venice, be hidden.

From the Paper:

"The Renaissance was about discovery, artistic, scientific and geographic. The geographic discoveries led to European's 'finding' new lands-although the lands had clearly been there long before any Europeans sailed to them-and thus to European culture bumping into cultures far different. The Europeans, since they had 'discovered' those other people, found it easy to set themselves up as superior to the discovered populations; that being the case, they then began to colonize the natives of those places, to civilize them (or, as one might say in a more politically sensitive age, Europeanize them, although that sounds even more paternalistic than colonizing). Cefalu argues that hierarchy was central to the European concept of civilization; any culture that lacked masters and subordinates was, therefore, uncivilized. Such as the culture found in "The Tempest"; it paralleled, Cefalu argues, the lack of stratification in the American colonies at the outset (Cefalu 2000)."

More papers on "Othello" vs. "The Tempest":

• Essay # 71231 : "The Tempest"
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• Essay # 73855 : "Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

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