In Shakespeare's Othello, color imagery consistently appears throughout the text. The colors, specifically black, white, and red, create symbolic and metaphoric meanings which contribute to larger themes such as racial prejudice, good versus evil, sexuality, and murder. The colors evoke images in the characters' minds, particularly Othello's. These images, along with their corresponding idea or theme, influence the actions of the characters, culminating in the murder of Desdemona by Othello.
References to black and white carry the most weight and contribute much to the actions of the characters; those colors often are used as a comment on race, on good and evil, on sexuality, or a combination of the three. The play does not proceed far into the first scene without a racial statement, where Iago informs Brabantio that Othello and Desdemona have run away together: “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/ Is tupping your white ewe” (1.1.85-86). Iago refers to Othello as a “black ram” and to Desdemona as a “white ewe,” pointing out the differences in skin color (since Othello is a Moor). A ram, since it has horns, can also be symbolic of the devil; therefore, Iago makes Othello devil-like and racially different at the same time. Additionally, the color black is often seen as evil or bad, whereas white is seen as good and pure. Since the black ram is “tupping,” or mounting, the white ewe, Iago is making a reference to the sexual act of Othello, black, taking Desdemona's virginity, white and pure. Planting an image like this in Brabantio's mind causes him to react negatively towards the marriage, and because Othello is darker-skinned, it makes the situation worse.
Brabantio has racial prejudices and accuses Othello, because he is dark and associated with barbarity and enchantment, of using magic to seduce Desdemona:
For I'll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy, curled darlings of our nation,
Would ever have, t'incur a general mock,
Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou—to fear, not to delight. (1.2.63-70)
Brabantio refers to Othello as a “sooty bosom,” following Iago's earlier racial image. He stereotypes Othello, saying that magic must be involved or Desdemona, “a fair” or white woman, never would have chosen a dark man, a “sooty bosom,” to marry. The black and white images placed in Brabantio's mind influence his views on Othello, or he would not have pointed out Othello's “sooty bosom.” These images that emphasize the colors are what keep him from accepting Othello.
Othello defends himself against Brabantio's accusations of magic, saying, “Yet by your gracious patience,/ I will a round unvarnished tale deliver/ Of my whole course of love” (1.3.89-91). Othello will tell the truth of what happened, and the tale will be “unvarnished,” or unglossed. He recognizes that the ideas associated with his color are part of the problem, and he must defend himself against racist beliefs. By telling an “unvarnished tale,” a tale with no touch of surface color in any way, he will prove himself to Brabantio as an honest man regardless of his color. Othello recognizes the misjudgment that is made about him, and so must evoke an image of honesty and purity to protect himself …
Once it is proven that Othello did not bewitch Desdemona, the negative color imagery must be removed from Brabantio's mind. The Duke says to Brabantio, “And, noble signior,/ If virtue no delighted beauty lack,/ Your son-in-law is far more fair than black” (1.3.283-285). He compliments Othello's “virtue,” yet he also makes the statement that Othello is “far more fair than black.” The conditional “if” implies that if virtues outweigh or have no connections to external looks, and since virtue often is associated with the color white, then because Othello is virtuous, he is more “fair,” or white. The Duke tells Brabantio that should Brabantio think Othello is virtuous, though Othello is darker skinned, because he is less dark, “more fair,” than completely black. In other words, Othello is so light and virtuous that he appears almost like a white person, thus the image allows Othello to be accepted as Desdemona's husband because the characters can view him as “fair” rather than “black.”
Despite the acceptance of Othello by the characters, he is still referred to as the Moor, or as black. Iago says,
Come, lieutenant,
I have a stoup of wine, and here without are a
brace of Cyprus gallants that would fain have a
measure to the health of black Othello. (2.3.27-30)
Iago uses Othello's color as a weapon against him. In the beginning, it was Iago who described Othello as a “black ram” to influence Brabantio. Here, he again brings out an image of Othello that is specifically “black,” playing on Othello's racial difference. Iago does this throughout the text, using color to place imagery into characters' heads in order to influence them.
Iago especially influences Othello with color imagery. He points out to Othello, “She did deceive her father, marrying you;/ And when she seemed to shake and fear your looks,/ She loved them most” (3.3.206-208). He causes Othello to think about his skin color and the differences between him and Desdemona. The influence of Iago's statement on Othello is evident when he says,
Haply for I am black
And have not those soft parts of conversation
That chamberers have, or for I am declined
Into the vale of years—yet that's not much—
She's gone. (3.3.262-266)
Othello picks up on the stereotypes of his race that because he is black, he is tough and hard, and does not have “those soft parts” that others have to woo women. Othello's adoption of the black color imagery shows that he is falling into Iago's trap, which causes him to believe that Desdemona is unfaithful.
Othello later seems to recognize that the rumors about Desdemona are affecting him,
By the world,
I think my wife be honest, and think she is not;
I think that thou art just, and think thou art not.
I'll have some proof. My name, that was as fresh
As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black
As mine own face. (3.3.380-385)
Until now, Othello recognized that his skin was dark, “begrimed and black,” but he did not identify his character as such. Othello's person, or his “name,” was pure like “Dian's visage,” the [face of] the goddess of chastity; he was good and pure on the inside even though externally [to Europeans] he looked dark and evil. Yet “now” Othello sees himself as “begrimed,” or dirty, as he succumbs to the beliefs against Desdemona, which make him feel like a foolish husband. He allows Iago to poison his thoughts, turning his insides black like his outside, causing him to describe himself in [racist] black and white color imagery. This imagery and the beliefs that accompany it help to motivate Othello to kill Desdemona.
Othello later points out Desdemona's whiteness as he watches her sleep before killing her. He says, “Yet I'll not shed her blood,/ Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,/ And smooth as monumental alabaster” (5.2.3-5). Othello will not ruin her beauty by shedding her blood, but he also points out her “whiter skin.” He recognizes once again the difference in their colors as so many people have mentioned previously. Also, if he scars her white skin, he will be ‘tainting' it like his own. Since his dark skin is a symbol of evil while hers is a symbol of goodness and purity, if he cuts her, he will darken her skin with blood, therefore destroying the goodness still left in her appearance, if not also in her character. His vision of the white imagery propels him to choose to smother her, as Iago suggested to him earlier.
The color red is in much of the imagery in Othello, too, often symbolizing blood, murder, and virginity. In the beginning, Roderigo and Brabantio draw swords to attack Othello for stealing Desdemona, and Othello says, “Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them” (1.2.58). Literally, Othello tells them that if they keep their swords out, the moisture, or “dew,” in the air will corrode and “rust” the swords. Yet rust is red as well, so Othello may be pointing out that if their swords remain drawn, blood is bound to get on them. This red image of blood may be foreshadowing Roderigo's swordfight with Cassio and death later. Additionally, it shows Othello's rationality at the time, for he does not want to see any bloodshed. The opposite is seen later once Othello is convinced of Desdemona's infidelity, but here Othello stops any fighting from taking place by evoking the image of blood on the swords.
Red also can symbolize virginity, or the loss of, as well. In early descriptions, Desdemona is described as “A maiden never bold/ Of spirit so still and quiet that her motion/ Blushed at herself” (1.3.94-96). Here, Desdemona is so pure and innocent (the qualities of a virgin), that she blushes at everything she does, turning her cheeks red. Desdemona herself is a symbol of goodness, the epitome of chastity, and her blushing reinforces the red imagery of virginity that depicts her actions as pure and good.
Red imagery for the loss of virginity in regards to Desdemona is particularly clear in the handkerchief given to her by Othello. The handkerchief is white with red strawberries on it, and is used by Iago as a symbol of her loss of virginity when he is convincing Othello of Desdemona's infidelity: “Tell me but this:/ Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief/ Spotted with strawberries in your wife's hand?” (3.3.430-432). Iago is evoking an image of white sheets “spotted” with blood, symbolizing the bleeding associated with the loss of virginity, when asking about the “handkerchief spotted with strawberries.” When he claims that he saw Cassio with the handkerchief, Othello, with the red color imagery in his mind, comes to the conclusion that Desdemona must be having an affair with Cassio, therefore giving away her virginity [or sexual purity] to Cassio rather than her husband. Othello acts according to his belief, and so he plans to kill Desdemona.
Once Othello is convinced that Desdemona has been unfaithful, he talks of revenge, and his language also contains red imagery of blood. At one point he cries out “O blood, blood, blood!” (3.3.448), and later he says,
Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,
Shall nev'r look back, nev'r ebb to humble love,
Till that a capable and wide revenge
Swallow them up. (3.3.454-457)
Earlier, Othello kept others from fighting, yet now it is he who wants to shed blood. Othello must shed blood in revenge for what he thinks Desdemona has done to him. The images of blood in his mind spur his plans of murder forward: “I will withdraw/ To furnish me with some swift means of death/ For the fair devil” (3.3.473-475). He believes Desdemona has betrayed him, and she must pay for it.
As Othello stands over Desdemona while she sleeps, he cannot “shed her blood” (5.2.3). The vision of blood on her white skin is too much for him, leading him to the decision to smother her; in a way, this act will preserve the appearance of innocence perceived in the whiteness of her skin. He also metaphorically refers to Desdemona as a rose, evoking the red [or possibly the white] image again: “When I have plucked the rose,/ I cannot give it vital growth again;/ It needs must wither” (5.2.13-15). He realizes that once he kills her, he cannot give her life again, just as once a flower is picked, it will die because it cannot be reattached to its root. Additionally, a rose could be a symbol of virginity, with Othello seeing Desdemona as a virgin still, a rose that has yet to be “plucked” by him, [a reading which implies] they have not consummated their marriage at this time. However, the redness of a rose may also remind him of blood, and, since Desdemona is probably sleeping on white sheets, Othello may have a vision of blood-stained sheets, signifying the loss of virginity. An image like this, coupled with the image from the handkerchief with strawberries, may help to drive him towards revenge; therefore, the red color [like the black and white] imagery evoked eventually contributes to the murder of Dedsdemona.
The color imagery of Othello influences many characters; some are influenced to hate or love Othello because of “black” and “white,” while Othello himself is driven to murder, particularly with red imagery. While each color plays its own role throughout the text, they all greatly contribute to the characters' behaviors and actions … leading to the play's tragic end.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Alvin Kernan, ed. New York: Signet Classic, 1986.
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