Shakespeare's Attitude Toward Race
Barbara Whitson

Race and Nationality are both applicable and nonexistent in Shakespeare's writings of the Sixteenth Century. Today, race is defined according to our views, our concerns, and our involvement. Renaissance England was not afforded the social and intellectual involvement we have come to experience. The scholars who studied the works of Shakespeare and other Renaissance writers did succeed in putting the term "race" into their critiques and published works. This use of race was used more as a marginal attitude than with the corruption and insensitivity we know now (Barroll 33). According to Kawame Anthony Appiah, race was relatively absent in Mr. Shakespeare's writing and he felt that Shakespeare had "an exonerated blank check by effectively making race a historical non-issue in the early modern period". (Barroll 29)

Shakespeare's world did include persons of other color and religion. Most were from France and the Netherlands, with Germany, Spain and Italy also included in the mixture and presented easy identification in the form of their various accents. Protestant refugees were accepted but not fully embraced and hostility in the form of demonstrations and riots was associated with those persons from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. (Norton 21) One reason for the distrust towards the Irish was based on their religious beliefs of Catholicism.

The English were very leery and suspicious of any foreigners and treated all strangers as suspect. This was partly due to their lack of understanding and knowledge of other cultures. The people of England believed themselves to be far superior and treated others with indignity and pity. Some such statements might be "pride is the disease of the Spaniard; the Italian is a cunning proud fellow"; The Frenchman "for the most part loves none but himself and his pleasures"; and the Danes are "the most gross and senseless proud dolts." (Papp/Kirkland 51) The government was concerned with the infiltration of Catholicism and at one point had any English person studying in a Catholic country returned to England so as not to be converted. England was "opposed to Catholicism in any form, but especially in the Spanish form" (Papp/ Kirkland 51) The threat of foreigners taking over jobs held by Englishmen was also a reason for conflict. The trade imbalance and the high rate of unemployment during the sixteenth century, made the English cautious and suspicious of others.

The result of the Turkish armies invading Eastern Europe and their domination of the people they captured, weighed very heavily on the rest of Europe. Turkey was viewed as an enemy of the people and of their faith. They were seen as cruel, and were labeled as stubborn and barbaric. Othello used the word "Turk" to denote a liar who was evil and untrustworthy. (Papp/Kirkland 53)

People of color from Africa, brought against their will, emerged as slaves and servants. Their color was thought to have been caused by their proximity to living near the sun. The English were "intrigued that their black skin could not be washed off" (Papp/Kirkland 55) Black was denoted to be evil and ugly since the " Elizabethans believed that outward appearances reflected inner reality". Because of this misconception they viewed black skin as sinful, evil, and associated it with the Devil. (Papp/Kirkland 56) The English's inability, or lack of understanding, made it easier for them to reject Black Africans as "not being English, not being white and not being Christian". (Papp/Kirkland 57) Shakespeare did write a major role for a black actor in "Othello" and the part is usually played true to the character of color.

There were very few Jewish people living in England and a number of them converted to Christianity to avoid a hostile atmosphere. They were viewed as inferior because of their faith. Many of these Jews secretly practiced the rites and traditions of their religion, while they professed their conversion to the Protestant faith and attended services on a regular basis. The English church " believed the Jewish people were the murderers of Christ and viewed them as shifty and treacherous." (Papp/Kirkland 59) Some Elizabethans were glad to have the Jews serve as agents in the trade industry. In that way it was the Jew dealing with their enemy Spain and they reaped the benefits. They were also used for their intelligence and sources when the English had to deal with Spain or Portugal on foreign affairs. They were tolerated and used as long as they kept up the charade of living as an Englishman, while keeping their faith alive in secrecy. (Papp/Kirkland 61)

Spanish Jews and Catholics were not at all accepted in England because of religion and politics. Spain instilled in the English a sense of fear for they were viewed as a political and a military power. Their use of torture against Protestants and their evil intention of world domination were at the forefront of the fear in Englishmen. Queen Elizabeth viewed the Spanish ambassador as a fool and ridiculed him at every opportunity. Shakespeare's Armado in Love's Labours Lost could very well have been an extension of the ambassador, for his role was that of comic relief. When the Spanish Armada met it's fate, the English "proclaimed the victory as final proof that God really was an Englishman and a Protestant as well" (Papp/Kirkland 63)

At the end of the sixteenth century England was experiencing famine and great numbers of unemployment. Refugees ascended into England from France but were not readily accepted due to these conditions. The Queen, however, was willing to accept all the Protestant French. These French refugees brought with them skills useful in manufacturing and industry, which England needed. They were not treated well by the populace and had many restrictions forced upon them. The main reason for the fear and treatment was due to the foreigner's ability to make money. The Elizabethans felt inferior in skilled labor and knowledge. They blamed the French and Dutch for everything wrong in England. They "were blamed for food shortages, housing shortages, rising prices, and anything else that went wrong". (Papp/Kirkland 65)

Elizabethans were sensitive to anything foreign including their own countrymen. Regional accents were prevalent and immediately recognized as being foreign. It did not matter at this point what color or nationality one was, only that they were different. "The fabric of English society was woven so tightly that it seemed to exclude anyone who wasn't white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant- and male." (Papp/Kirkland 67)

Shakespeare did not invent his stories; they were borrowed from historical accounts and other novels and romances of the time. His historical plays involve true accounts as well as fictional people and places. The laws of racism were not so defined as they are now and one would find it hard to judge Shakespeare when his accounts and stories were transplanted from someone else. He did possess the creativity and artistic license to embellish or delve into greater detail the situations and characters he transported on to his pages. Shakespeare used as models, "French Philosophy, Spanish romance, Scottish chronicle, Italian novella, Greek tragedy, Roman comedy, English poetry, and so much more". (Papp/Kirkland 153) Shakespeare did not have to cope with copyright laws when he borrowed other's works. It was not an unusual occurrence for writers to copy stories or writing styles from each other. Another source for Shakespeare was Greek Mythology. He used these "in appropriate contexts to illustrate a theme, or give a deeper meaning." (Papp/Kirkland 156) All these sources afforded Shakespeare the opportunity to use diverse races and to embellish them, add humor to them, or to establish an evil or foreboding context.

Love's Labours Lost was written in the latter sixteenth century and included a King of Navarre, a Princess from France, and a Spanish visitor among others. The scenes for the movie version by Kenneth Branagh were updated to the year 1939. The political climate of the time was that of Europe in the throngs of a war and the use of black and white newsreels to set the time frame throughout the movie. Even though Europe was troubled at this time, the focus of the movie centered on several love stories. It included musical numbers from Hollywood films of the 1930's and 1940's. With a heavy reliance on word play, as with other Shakespearean productions, there did not seem to be an overt obsession with race or nationality. The Spaniard, Don Amato was used as a diversion from the love affairs and afforded the audience some comic interludes. His overuse of vocabulary and his own love interest with Jaquenetta, made him appear somewhat foolish. The other mention of race or nationality, more evident in the play, was the from the character Berowne when he talked about "cosmetic-caked faces of Englishwomen: unlike his dark skinned Rosalind. He stated ' Your mistresses dare never come in rain, for fear their colors should be washed away'." (Papp/Kirkland 55) Shakespeare appeared to be ambivalent in his use and association with race and nationality. The male characters masqueraded as Russian, for a scene in the play, and were portrayed as ridiculous and inept. "The Russians and blackamoors, (or Moor, or Negro, or Ethiope) glance at racial subjugation, distancing it so that English (or French) complicity is neither affirmed or denied. (Norton 737). As with many of Shakespeare's plays the themes of white and black, light and darkness, sun and moon are evident, but do not necessarily denote race. Another attitude stated in Norton's was that Berowne associated the darkness of Rosalind's body with racial and sexual connotations. This was not evident in the film version, since the actress playing Rosalind did not appear to have a dark complexion.

The stage direction in Act 5, Scene 2 of Love's Labour's Lost, reads "Enter the Blackamoors with music"

This "signals the entrance not of actual Africans, but of English minstrels in blackface. There is a wealth of evidence about how early modern performers achieved racial impersonation by means of theatrical integument (make-up) and although English monarchs employed black musicians-there is no record of black performers being borrowed from royal or aristocratic households to play roles on stage." (Barroll 21)

As I read or view the plays of Shakespeare, I do not formulate a character in the realm of color or race. The character is just a character, whether he was taken from historical content or mythology. To read race or nationality into the play prevents one from discerning the appreciation and involvement of the character. That is why I believe it is better to read the play, or book first and to use my own imagination in developing the physical qualities of each individual. Watching a film version, on the other hand, is having the director tell me or directly show me how I should perceive the character. If there are multiple film versions this perception can be confusing and intimidating.

With education and awareness, audiences are better equipped to understand and formulate differences than the audiences of the Renaissance period. Their understanding of race was limited to religious and political indoctrination. We, the audiences of today are better equipped to handle race and nationality on screen and in print since our exposure is not as limited.

Our acceptance of people as people regardless of race, political, or sexual orientation (and I certainly hope this is true,) allows us to better focus on the quality of Shakespeare's creative personalities, unadulterated by bias later assigned or miss-assigned through subsequent generations of interpreters. Therefore, it is my contention that we are better judges of Shakespeare's attitude toward race than previously biased audiences.

Works Cited
Baer, Brian James. Remembrance in Reverse: Literature, Nationalism, and Modernity. Diss. Yale University. 1996.

Barroll, Leeds, ed. Shakespeare Studies Volume XXVI. London: Associated Press, 1998.

Daily Telegiraffe : Review of Love's Labour's Lost. http://members.tripod.com/`Daily Telegiraffe/loveslabourslostvariety.html.

Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. The Norton Shakespeare. New York/ London: Norton, 1997.

Papp, Joseph and Kirkland, Elizabeth. Shakespeare Alive. New York: Bantam, 1988.

Rowe, Nicholas. The Life of Mr. William Shakespeare. http://daphne.palomer.edu/shakespeare/rowe.htm.

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