The sources and representations of the Moor in Shakespeare's worksA theme constantly taken up in Shakespeare's works is that of the Other. The Other is usually characterized as a character who is somehow separate, stigmatized, or noted as different from the traditional ideal. For Elizabethan England of Shakespeare's time, it may have been a self-defense maneuver against the invasion of something threatening too close to home (Bartels 450). Bryant lists several methods used to employ this convention of the Other: race like that of Shylock and Aaron, nationality as in Iachimo, bastardy like the characters Don John and Edmund, social status like that of Iago, and deformity, for example. example, Richard III (35). Not all Others are characterized as evil, but still depicted as somehow different or separate from society. Characters such as Malvolio, Faulconbridge, Macbeth and Othello belong to this subdivision. A sect of Otherness is that of race. During this period, England appears at first glance to be culturally separate from any area of ​​the Ottoman Empire. However, this hypothesis turns out to be false. There are four characters in Shakespeare's works, Caliban, Othello, the Prince of Morocco, and Aaron, who are distinctly of African or Moorish origin. Whether these people were of black, Berber, Spanish or Arab origin is definitely up for debate. The use of the term Moro is also important. This word is used to describe Aaron and Othello, but not to describe Caliban or the Prince of Morocco, both of whom come from areas classically defined as Moorish. The origin of the word Moro comes from the word mauri. Mauri refers to the Berbers with...... middle of paper ......ntic Review. 55.4 (1990): 1-17.Bryant, J. A. Jr. "Aaron and the Model of Shakespeare's Villains." Renaissance cards. (1984): 29-36. Burshatin, Israel. "The Moor in the text: metaphor, emblem and silence". Critical inquiry. 12.1 (1985): 98-118. D'Amico, Jack. The Moor in English Renaissance drama. Tampa: University of South Florida Press, 1991.Everett, Barbara. "'Spanish' Othello: The Making of Shakespeare's Moor." Investigation of Shakespeare. 35 (1982): 101-112.Jones, Eldred. The Elizabethan image of Africa. Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1971.Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Kenneth Myrick. New York: Seal, 1965.---. Othello. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.---. The Storm. Ed. Charles W. Eliot. New York: P. F. Collier & Sons, 1969.---. Titus Andronicus. Ed. Silvano Barnet. New York: Seal, 1964.