셰익스피어 비극의 유색인종에 나타난 전복적 양상

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes subversive aspects of Shakespeare’s three colored characters in comparison with other white characters in each work: Aaron in Titus Andronicus, Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra, and Othello in Othello. During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Elizabethan England experienced an influx of races into its land. In particular, those of a black hue were often the target of prejudice and racial stereotypes. However, Shakespeare did not reflect this prejudice in the portrayals of his colored characters. Each of these colored characters has their own subversive aspects to resist against stereotypes and prejudice. In Titus Andronicus, Aaron is literate, erudite, resourceful and controls white characters in his own way. He does not have excessive sexual desire; moreover, he has a deep paternal love. To white characters, he speaks for his races resistantly when he argues about black-skinned people. In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra uses an infinite variety of moods and her voice as subversive strategies to control Roman generals. By cross-dressing, she subverts men’s gender ideology. She kills herself using an asp, and this ensures her immortality. In Othello, Othello is a noble Moor and distinguished general in Venice. However, his interracial marriage to Desdemona threatens white Venetian society. Finally, when Othello kills Desdemona because of Iago’s evil plot, he returns to being a noble Moor. Shakespeare may be affected by racial and sexual ideology, but he does not necessarily portray the colored characters in his plays as conforming to racial and sexual stereotypes. The white characters in each play are more incompetent, jealous, and barbarous than the colored characters. Thus, we can argue that Shakespeare was trying to make Elizabethans reconsider their prejudiced attitudes toward colored people.