In Shakespeare's Othello, race is a concept explored only minimally. The characters in the play assume that because they are English, they are superior and the foreign characters (such as Othello the Moor) are inferior. This is not questioned at all, and in fact it is openly assumed that Othello is indeed an inferior man due to the color of his skin and the way characters such as Iago and Roderigo treat him. While an early modern audience would accept this concept without hesitation, an audience in today's age is left wondering whether Othello is actually acting because of the social pressures, beliefs and actions imposed on him, or because he is inherently different as a person. who is not white. While Shakespeare seems to think otherwise, Othello's development in his actions and words - from confident general to depressed maniac and wife-killer - clearly shows that his death and his reactions were the product of his peers (i.e., Iago ) and that he is not inherently different because of his race. In the end, it was all Iago's fault. From the first scene of the play, Iago and Roderigo discuss Othello and refer to him only in racist terms, and never by his name. The first mention of the titular character the audience receives is a generic pronoun: "You told me you hated him" (1.1.6) in which Roderigo's mere mention of Othello angers Iago. The fact that both characters don't even have the respect for Othello in using his name is the first proof of their hatred and disrespect towards him. They continue to use a number of racial epithets, which further proves the point. Othello is called "his Moorship" and "the Moor" (a word that refers to a darker-skinned person, but...... middle of paper......y of truth and Iago's stabbing only hints at the justice that Iago truly deserves and has manipulated Othello and his peers and used the people around him - including his wife, who he also kills - to enact a vengeful, jealous tantrum and ruin Othello, that he is only guilty of being successful and having a beautiful wife who loves him. Throughout the play Iago has made it clear to the modern audience that Othello only behaves as he does as a result of the manipulation he has suffered: he is a product of Iago's actions, not his.The not-so-subtle racism present throughout the play betrays Shakespeare's thoughts on this matter, as well as the thoughts of the play's audience when it was originally performed.However, in a more modern context, Othello is a tragedy not only because of the events that unfold, but also because of the treatment and manipulation of Othello himself.