elizabethan attitudes towards different cultures

A good deal of mutual affection existed in most marriages, with wives occupying a separate but subordinate sphere in the family economy. In the play hes called Muly Mahamet Seth or Muly Seth. To save content items to your account, For the Folger Shakespeare Library, Im Folger Director Michael Witmore. What was the framework of assumptions concerning foreigners? Because your work, it really puts a different spin on Othello, and it also puts such a different spin on the traditional thinking about The Renaissance, with a capital T and a capital R. I mean as you put it in your essay, Empires built on exploitation, on bondage, on enslavement, on genocide of Indigenous people, and you ask in that same paragraph, How can we have this glorious, early modern period if its also implicated in all of those things? How do you answer that question? This lesson seeks to sensitize students to the complex nature of revenge as it is portrayed in Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.Students learn how Shakespeare's play interprets Elizabethan attitudes toward revenge, as reflected in the structure of the Elizabethan revenge tragedy, one of the most popular forms of drama of that era. The Elizabethan era in the 16th century was one of adventure, intrigue, personalities, plots and power struggles. Furthermore, women of the Elizabethan era had virtually no legal nor political rights. The common wealth is judged by that which is most ordinarily and commonly done through the whole realm. But we might want to think about how they got to Spain. DADABHOY: I dont know that I would say that. DADABHOY: That was my introduction to this play. His presentation of women was depend ent upon the thinking of the society surrounding him. In Elizabethan England, there was fairly widespread belief that freedom of choice was a right among marriage partners. Right? only that they were different. Finally, the deaths associated with each plot and the attitudes toward death, especially suicide, provide students with different cultural orientations to life and its value in relation to honor and loyalty. Differences in cultures have led to a diversity in the people from different parts of the world. One of those thinkers is Ambereen Dadabhoy, an assistant professor of literature at Harvey Mudd, the liberal arts, engineering, science, and mathematics college in Claremont, California. I mean, it just requires really teaching this whole period differently, it seems. BOGAEV: Oh, thats fascinating. Thats the traditional scholarship. The Elizabethan era is the epoch in English history marked by the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). That is, of course, the Ottoman Empire. We had technical help from Andrew Feliciano at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. It is generally considered foolish to marry for love, although love may occur in marriage. But, a very racist city who would only allow Catholics to enter the city. Certainly, I dont think it was the first play to do so, but it was the play that really centered on Morocco, focused on presenting this Moorish villain character whose racial Blackness becomes that Blackness gives the reason for his villainy. But it really was in how I got to my topic was really from a moment of teaching Othello really. 4 For a totally different view, see Lukas Erne, Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist (2003). The model summarized below, by Milton Bennett describes this journey from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism: . OF THE POWER AND PLACE OF KINGS AND PRINCES. What I learned from reading your work is that Shakespeare was hardly the only playwright to write about non-English characters. Away from the luxury of the monarchy in the Elizabethan era, life for ordinary people was often hard and the number of poor people increased during Elizabeth's . So, we see that genre, it was quite popular in the Middle Ages. We are working through this pandemic helping people in need with delivery. Or is it just an unconscious, you know, lack of awareness? You say its the, white way of knowing.. If we think about the process of enslavement in the Mediterranean and we think about Mediterranean empires, enslavement had been going on for thousands of years. When I am playing with my cat, who knows whether she have more sport in dallying with me than I have in gaming with her? Queen Elizabeth was at the top of the social pyramid. It requires, I think, teaching this period certainly differently from how I was taught. Sir Thomas Elyot, The Book of the Governor, 1531: Moreover, take away order from all things, what should then remain? So, how is it deployed and what does it connote, and what light does it shed on the topic were talking about today? I think there has been a resistance to thinking about how enslavement has been the engine for all of the glories of the European Renaissance and the sort of discoveries of the early modern period, and what then resulted in the kind of ascendency of Europe over the rest of the world. Theres this moment where at the end of the play where the new king says that Muly Hamet should be skinned and his skin should be displayed as a warning to those who might follow, right? This podcast episode, In the Old Age, Black Was Not Counted Fair, was produced by Richard Paul. DADABHOY: I dont think so. You had Moroccan African people in London. Hath not he set degrees and estates in all his glorious works? Springer is one of the leading international scientific publishing companies, publishing over 1,200 journals and more than Thomas Bentley, "The Monument of Matronness," 1572: Primarily a devotional treatise, it sets forth proof of woman's nobility and greatness. There could be no mistaking who she was. This was partly due to their lack of understanding and knowledge of other cultures. In shocking his audience with this deviation from the norm, Shakespeare presents a reality that African . They were probably people who were kidnapped from Africa, either themselves, or their ancestors might have been. Dr. Dadabhoy was interviewed by Barbara Bogaev. 2021 May;56(3):609-619. doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.12617. BOGAEV: Yeah, and I think now were getting to this term that is so perfect, that Ive never heard anyone really say it this way that you use. For example, questions such as the following might sound natural to you: . DADABHOY: Yes. Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service. As your awareness of culture increases, your attitude toward cultural difference likewise evolves. At the centre was Queen Elizabeth I, 'The Virgin Queen' and the latter part of . ; 11 Strikingly enough, the study of popular Shakespeare in live performances has been relatively unexplored. And a question that comes up a lot is this: When did the concept of race begin to appear? You can find more about the Folger at our website, folger.edu. Not just early modern scholarship but really kind of the scholarship on race done by Black feminist scholars or even post-colonial scholars. Of all creatures man is the most miserable and frail, and therewithal the proudest and disdainfullest. So Im really thinking about the way that the play opens not with Othello, but with Iago and Roderigo shaping for us how we should interpret the Moor and Othello, and really relying on lurid imagery of Othellos sexuality and the kind of potential violation of Desdemona that they conjure for Brabantio. whether this influence is linked to different cultural attitudes towards money or the institution al, legal, political and social context specific to each country. DADABHOY: It was directed at the Black population, who are identified as having come from Spain. An Exhortation Concerning Good Order, and Obedience to Rulers and Magistrates," Sermon preached in all English Churches in 1547: ALmighty God hath created and appointed all things in heaven, earth, and waters, in a most excellent and perfect order. Cognitive, behavioural and. physics, engineering, mathematics, computer sciences, and economics. Could you just fill us in and give us the thumbnail sketch? BOGAEV: Yeah. The earth, which is of substance gross and ponderous, is set of all elements most lowest. Then enter the name part To save content items to your account, Those are all the kind of competing forces that are playing upon him. AMBEREEN DADABHOY: We actually know quite a bit about the Black people who were living in London during Shakespeares time. And our testaments for goods moveable be not subject to the ceremonies of the civil law, but made with all liberty and freedom. Of lands as ye have understood before, there is difference: for when the owner dieth, his land descendeth only to his eldest son, all the rest both sons and daughters have nothing by the common law, but must serve their eldest brother if they will, or make what other shift they can to live: except that the father in life time do make some conveyance and estates of part of his land to their use, or else by devise, which word amongst our lawyers doth betoken a testament written, sealed, and delivered in the life time of the testator before witness: for without those ceremonies a bequest of lands is not available. And were going to talk about that in a moment, but I should get back to what we were talking about, which is: in Shakespeares time, by the late 1500s or early 1600s, does this history mean that English people already associate dark skin with enslavement and servitude? Really, for me, one of the things that is interesting to think about with this character is that he also represents like, this is a character that owes a lot to the kinds of issues that we see come up in George Peeles The Battle of Alcazar. And so those are the moments where we can put pressure and see how race is being mobilized to make it very clear that this is the villain and hes a villain because of his Blackness and his Africanness. I felt that negro here was not a value-neutral descriptor. So, Shakespearean audiences, then, already had exposure to, or thoughts along, these lines, and theyre getting it from different aspects of culture. And the like power have kings. Who perceiveth and seeth himself placed here amidst the filth and mire of the world, fast tied and nailed to the worst, most senseless, and drooping part of the world in the vilest corner of the house and farthest from heaven's cope with those creatures that are the worst of the three conditions and yet dareth imaginarily place himself above the circle of the moon and reduce heaven under his feet. He is Black; therefore, he is a villain. She is also more shameless and false, more readily deceived, and more mindful of injury, more watchful, more idle, and on the whole less excitable than the male. But now to prove by example of those things that be within the compass of man's knowledge, of what estimation order is, not only among men, but also with God, albeit his wisdom, bounty, and magnificence, can be with no tongue or pen sufficiently expressed. We go back thinking about the Middle Ages and the popularity of certain kinds of romance forms. Abstract. And in things subject to nature, nothing of himself only may be nourished, but when he hath destroyed that wherewith he doth participate by the order of his creation, he himself of necessity must then perish, whereof ensueth universal dissolution. See we not plainly that obedience of creatures unto the law of nature is the stay of the whole world? For if you will consider the attributes to God, you shall see how they agree in the person of a king. The Elizabethan Era, during which Shakespeare lived and wrote, is also known for Sir Francis Drake's exploration of the "new world," the English defeat of the Spanish Armada (a naval campaign to invade and bring Roman Catholicism back to England), Sir Walter Raleigh's colonial exploration, the blossoming of theatre and poetry in England . Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. Different groups may have different cultures. DADABHOY: English people are already trainedand we have scholars like Anthony Barthelemy has talked about this in his book Black Face, Maligned Race, where the image of blackness, as associated with sin, with the devil, all of these things, makes it quite easy to map onto then Black people these kinds of characteristics. Thanks for listening. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Shakespeare's works Read and learn more about Shakespeare's plays and poems; Shakespeare in print The First Folio (the book that gave us Shakespeare) and what came after; Shakespeare in performance From playhouse to film sets, explore four centuries of staging . After being imprisoned by her half-sister and surviving several plots designed to prevent her from ascending the throne of England, Elizabeth became queen in 1558. And the privilege which he so fondly challengeth to be the only absolute creature in this huge world's frame, perfectly able to know the absolute beauty and several parts thereof, and that he is only of power to yield the great Architect thereof due thanks for it and to keep account both of the receipts and layings out of the world--who hath sealed him this patent? Shakespeare's Attitude Toward Race . We see here already Othello as kind of being hypersexualized and also criminalized in a way through the elopement. BOGAEV: But interesting that its being skinned. And lastly, kings are compared to the head of this microcosm of the body of man. . According to a new Yale study, negative attitudes towards plagiarism may be more universal than previously thought. And Cyprus is quite close to, sort of, the center of power of the Ottoman Empire, thinking about Istanbul. Common law vested control of property in the man, though dower, inheritance, and settlements gave many wives in the propertied classes some safeguards. So when the queen asks the lord mayor to deport the Blackamoors, its really directed at anyone Spanish, whether slave or not, and it has more to do with that animosity between the two countries than with actual skin color? A culture is passed on to the next generation by learning, whereas genetics are passed on by heredity.Culture is seen in people's writing, religion, music, clothes, cooking and in what they do.. This was a period in which Englishmen had to face the fact that there were strange people in other parts of the world. But then you have Desdemonas line, I saw his visage in his mind. His true image. } Thats what traditional scholarship says. Published online by Cambridge University Press: The duties of husband and wife were explicitly defined and expected to be followed by both men and women. We become complicit in reading Othello in the way that Iago wants us to read him, which means we also read his Blackness in the way that Iago wants us to read him. BOGAEV: This is really interesting because I want to step back now to the bigger picture. BOGAEV: The myth of the glorious enlightenment. For kings are not only God's lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself they are called gods. Were people saying like, Oh, if youre interested in this race stuff, youre in this niche?. Most medieval literature is located in a dimension that cares little for the compass. DADABHOY: For me, I think that the play asks us to think about how Blackness is actively being constructed by characters who have power in order to influence how we understand race. And the fact of the Holy Land, its also a place where you have a lot of encounter with people who are different culturally, linguistically, religiously, but also racially and ethnically. The importance of culture lies in its close association with the ways of thinking and living. The Ottomans really control much of this eastern Mediterranean geography during the time that Shakespeare is writing this play but also during the time where Shakespeare might have set this play, which would be probably about 40 years before 1603. 3,000 new books annually, covering a wide range of subjects including biomedicine and the life sciences, clinical medicine, . In the play Othello, Shakespeare presents an African man who negates such stereotypical views. So we know that there was a considerable community of Black people who lived and worked and died in Shakespeares London in the early modern period. The water, which is somewhat consolidate and approacheth to corruption, is next unto the earth. That is exactly what is happening in this play. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions According to one source, "in the Elizabethan age, upwards of 80% of all books were purchased for and read by women" ("Elizabethan Women" 1). She believed these people were similar to beasts, dangerous because of their temper . Thank you so much. Elizabethan Englishmen associated blackness with evil, death, and danger. Benefits. It may apply sharp cures, or cut off corrupt members, let blood in what proportion it thinks fit, and as the body may spare but yet is all this power ordained by God ad aedificationem, non ad destructionem [for constructive, not destructive use]. WITMORE: Dr. Ambereen Dadabhoy is an assistant professor of literature at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. A revolution in reading (and to a lesser extent writing) was taking place. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Race:Racist Humor and Shakespearean ComedyRead an excerpt from Dr. Patricia Akhimies chapter inThe Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Race. Then when we finally see Othello, he is of course so different from what we have been led to believe by Iago. So, you can see that hes alienated, yeah. Shakespeare first explores Elizabethan attitudes towards women when Desdemona is first mentioned in scene one. Journal of African American Men please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. According to the behaviorist definition of . This hath been some time used within the realm before any open war in sudden insurrections and rebellions, but that not allowed of wise and grave men, who in that their judgment had consideration of the consequence and example, as much as of the present necessity, especially, when by any means the punishment might have been done by order of law. And here is a good guy. So how does Othello compare to these other productions? In shocking his audience with this deviation from the norm, Shakespeare presents a reality that African men are indeed civil, literate, faithful husbands. It was psychologist Robert Levine who analyzed different cultures and their attitude towards time.He found out that the more economically developed countries like the . Then, those kinds of characteristics allow for the argument that these people are fit to be enslaved. Understanding different cultures is more than having an appreciation for our differences, but paving the way for a new world where we all stand together. For commonly women are the most part of the forenoon painting themselves, and frizzing their hairs, and prying in their glass like Apes, to pranck up themselves in their gawdies, like Poppets, or like the Spider which weaves a fine web to hang the fly.". Different cultures have different perspectives on disclosing emotions, the reasons behind a misunderstanding or conflict, or personal information. He made not only herbs to garnish the earth, but also trees of a more eminent nature than herbs. That its used as a keyword. We're at a moment in time when we need to do more than tolerate each other. So may the king deal With his subjects. In many ways, they become what is known as bi cultural or multi . Jane Anger, "Jane Anger her Protection for Women," 1589: Responds to attacks on women through an old-fashioned recital of man's iniquity and woman's virtues. His lack of self-esteem makes him an easy prey for the white devil, lago. Her chapter in the Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Race is called Barbarian Moors: Documenting Racial Formation in Early Modern England. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Race was published by Cambridge University Press in 2021. The Chinese also present the world with unique architectural, political, and religious systems . The play kind of seems to want to ask, What are his loyalties? That comes out very clearly in the play at the end, where Othello talks about, you know, taking by th throat the circumcisd dog, / And smote him, thus. And so he kind of destroys the internal Turk inside of him, through the hand of Venetian authority. While some travel narratives from the Elizabethan period comment positively on black Africans, there are many that do not.

South Gloucestershire Local Plan, Homes For Sale By Owner In Brantley Alabama, Articles E