Othello: Representation, race and Robeson

This dissertation examines the relation between the representation of black male identity and ways the audiences construct meaning and interpret the spectacle-text of Othello. Chapter one examines the relationship between representation of Othello and the concept of black male identity and otherness and considers the development of the relationship between black American identity and the cultural icon of Shakespeare. Chapter two considers the ideological influences that have informed American readings of black male identity, focusing less upon stage productions of Othello and more with the relationship between agency and representation. Finally this dissertation interrogates the significance of Paul Robeson as Othello.;An argument is made for a triple signification of presence exhibited in the theatre event when Robeson was cast in the title role. The audiences read the presence of Robeson as an actor playing the role of Othello and, at the same time, as a character in the fiction of the play. He also represented the presence of an actual black male in the role of Othello.