Racial Slurs

In William Shakespeare's Othello, many characters utilize racial slurs to convey their attitude toward Othello, the Moor. For instance, Iago says to Barbantio, "...you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you'll have your nephews neigh to you, you'll have courseres for cousins and jennets for germans" (I.i.108-112).  Despite the insulting nature of the slur itself, the racial comments hold deeper implication. Iago continually compares Othello to horses and ponies. The direct comparison to animals implies that Othello is less than human. In this way, Iago and the others who also use such references are implying that Othello possesses all the characteristics of an animal: lack of intelligence, lack of civility, and most importantly, lust. The racial slurs go so far as to imply that Othello married Desdemona not for true love, but for sex-an animalistic desire. This gives Barbantio even more reason to resent the marriage between Othello and his daughter. Moreover, the frequent references altogether convey to the reader the unaccepting attitude of the Venetians toward foreigners. Though Othello brought great pride to Venice for his accomplishments in war, the citizens of Venice are nonetheless reluctant to accept him completely.