Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
"Ocular Proof": Race, Religion, And Gender In The Merchant Of Venice And Othello, Edward A. Cooper
"Ocular Proof": Race, Religion, And Gender In The Merchant Of Venice And Othello, Edward A. Cooper
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This project is a study of the development of early modern racial categories in England - focusing on religion and skin color as primary modes of demarcation interwoven with other prevalent categories of language, ancestry/blood, nationality, and gender - as illuminated in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Othello. Religion and skin color, then, are the primary modes of racializing individuals in early modern England and characters in Shakespeare's works. This essay studies the context of racial difference as present in English and European rhetoric, art, theater, and exploration. Given this context, the paper explores the poetic geography …