• ISSN: 2382-6282 (Print); 2972-3108 (Online)
    • Abbreviated Title: Int. J. Lang. Lit. Linguist.
    • Frequency: Quarterly
    • DOI: 10.18178/IJLLL
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HOME > Archives > 2026 > Volume 12 Number 3 (2026) >
IJLLL 2026 Vol.12(3): 248-252
DOI: 10.18178/IJLLL.2026.12.3.668

Cultural Stereotypes in Othello and The Tempest: Identity, Race, and the Other

Ziyun Zhou
Department of English, University of Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Email: Ziyunzhou2023@outlook.com

Manuscript received April 22, 2026; accepted May 28, 2026; published September 23, 2026

Abstract—This essay explores how early modern plays use semantic features, particularly physical appearance, to raise questions about identity. In Othello, black skin serves as a marker of otherness, positioning Othello as an outsider. His relationship with Desdemona—a union of blackness and whiteness—disrupts Venetian social norms, and by emphasizing this racial difference, the play solidifies Venetian subjectivity. In The Tempest, Caliban’s monstrous appearance, coupled with his portrayal as a black slave and potential rapist, constructs his identity as an alien figure. These semantic features in both plays serve to highlight the perceived threat posed by Othello and Caliban’s cross-cultural actions to white European subjectivity, reinforcing a rigid boundary between insiders and outsiders. Through this analysis, the essay demonstrates how early modern drama uses race and physical characteristics to interrogate the construction of identity.
 
Keywords—identity, otherness, semantic features

Cite: Ziyun Zhou, "Cultural Stereotypes in Othello and The Tempest: Identity, Race, and the Other," International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 248-252, 2026.

Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).

 

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