In William Shakespeare's Othello, different interpretations give the text different meanings. From a post colonial perspective, the text presents a discourse, describing an attempt of assimilation of a black man into a white society by marrying a white woman but in the end is stripped from his white construct and is reduced back to the traditional role of "the Moor", revealing his "true" jealous and monstrous identity. From a feminist perspective, displays of male harsh mistreatment of women are stressed through the juxtaposition of the women's devotion to their male figure.

A post-colonial reading of the play contains expressions of racism and discriminatory attitudes through the use of imagery and negative colour connotations, which compel the characters' actions. These racial values and prejudices reflect the Elizabethan society's attitude towards blacks in Shakespeare's time and interracial marriage was thought as abhorrent. The Elizabethans' negative perceptions constructed societal stereotypes of...