Identity Formation and the Stranger in William Shakespeare's Othello and The Merchant of Venice

Authors

Rodney Castillo, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Major/Program

English

First Advisor's Name

James Sutton

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Co-Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Asher Milbauer

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Co-Chair

Third Advisor's Name

Jason Pearl

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

Stranger, Identity, Shakespeare, Hybridity, Mimicry, Hospitality, Transgression, Jew, Moor, Miami

Date of Defense

3-29-2019

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to probe the question of the stranger as engaged by William Shakespeare in the plays Othello and The Merchant of Venice. It will introduce predominant views held during Tudor England towards foreigners and other marginalized groups, to ascertain the forces that influenced Shakespeare’s works, and to provide a historical frame of reference. Further, the thesis will engage with issues of identity formation through postcolonial theories of cultural hybridity and hospitality as expressed by critical theorists Stuart Hall, Homi K. Bhabha, and Jacques Derrida. While racism and anti-Semitism are the most common readings of these two plays, I argue that in both cases Shakespeare is addressing the universal stranger. Further, the thesis will also seek to illustrate the viability to performance in a hyperconnected twenty-first century hybrid society, rejecting the idea of William Shakespeare as a hegemonic colonizer text devoid of relevance in modern times.

Identifier

FIDC007666

Recommended Citation

Castillo, Rodney, "Identity Formation and the Stranger in William Shakespeare's Othello and The Merchant of Venice" (2019). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4017.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4017