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Shakespeare's White Others
Examining the racially white 'others' whom Shakespeare creates in characters like Richard III, Hamlet and Tamora – figures who are never quite 'white enough' – this bold and compelling work emphasises how such classification perpetuates anti-Blackness and re-affirms white supremacy. David Sterling Brown offers nothing less here than a wholesale deconstruction of whiteness in Shakespeare's plays, arguing that the 'white other' was a racialized category already in formation during the Elizabethan era – and also one to which Shakespeare was himself a crucial contributor. In exploring Shakespeare's determinative role and strategic investment in identity politics (while drawing powerfully on his own life experiences, including adolescence), the author argues that even as Shakespearean theatrical texts functioned as engines of white identity formation, they expose the illusion of white racial solidarity. This essential contribution to Shakespeare studies, critical whiteness studies and critical race studies is an authoritative, urgent dismantling of dramatized racial profiling.
- GenresShakespeareNonfiction
208 pages, Hardcover
Published October 19, 2023
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October 17, 2024Shakespeare’s White Others by David Sterling Brown eloquently carves out a corner of early modern critical race studies through the examination of the “white other.” This figure, as Brown presents it, is a white character that defines the boundaries of whiteness by violating – or seeming to violate – societal, emotional, and behavioral norms expected to be performed by white individuals. Along with textual analysis, Brown’s thesis is informed by Black experiences, culture, and movements, connecting his arguments to collective histories and scholarship, within and beyond Shakespeare.
By placing a focus on intraracial rather than interracial othering, Brown transforms plays outside of the standard Shakespeare “race plays” into treasure troves of racial analysis. He reveals that many of the ways characters who are othered in Shakespeare’s canon are described in relation to blackness as a method of promoting white hegemony beyond the treatment of Black individuals. This is touched on throughout the book, through discussions of plays such as Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and centered primarily in his first chapter on Hamlet. Through these analyses, Brown shows how white characters can be “blackened” or turned into “white others” through their defiance of (or perceived defiance of) gender roles, sexual obedience, national pride, innocence, Christian law, or any other societal expectation placed on them. These examples help clearly define the birth and role of the white other.
When Brown does analyze “race plays,” he does so by shifting the discussions of racial analysis away from the characters that earn the plays their category of “race plays.” Historically, critical race approaches to such plays focus on deconstructing anti-Blackness and racism in the writing of the plays’ visibly non-white characters. In Brown’s approach of analyzing intraracial othering, he proposes looking at race beyond these characters. In perhaps the most well-argued and perspective-changing chapter, Brown looks at Titus Andronicus, insisting that the blame placed on Aaron as a catalyst of the play’s violence – by the play’s characters and even by early modern scholars – serves as a distraction from the play’s intraracial color-lines. Diagnosing the roles of the Romans and the Goths as the “whites” and “white others,” Brown exposes the cannibalistic, incestuous nature of white hegemony as it appears in and beyond Shakespeare’s plays. This approach is duplicated in the chapter on Antony and Cleopatra, in which Antony is assigned the role of “white other” due to his betrayal of Rome and therefore, his “whiteness.” By removing the Black characters as the central source of race in these plays, Brown opens another approach to examining Tamora’s and Antony’s relationship to whiteness and the world of these stories at large.
Some of the other arguments in this book are comparatively more tangential. The first features in Chapter 3, “On the Other Hand.” This brilliant title alludes to the pivoting of perspective from the previous chapters’ approaches – instead of discussing a white character who is “blackened” in the narrative, it discusses a Black character who is “whitened” in the narrative – as well as the chapter’s central argument: tracing female characters’ “white hands” as symbols of male attention and ownership. Though this point focuses on the “whitening” of a Black character rather than a white other, it ties into the narrative of the white other, used to present Antony’s proclamation of Cleopatra’s “white hand” as an act of conquest over her body and an attempt to reclaim his previously “white” and “superior” Roman reputation. The end of the chapter also reconnects to the central thesis of discussing whiteness as a tool of racial violence, when Cleopatra’s “white” hands are framed as a tool of violence against Black bodies as a call to consider the hidden violence against Blackness behind the “white” hand and its association with innocence through its whiteness.
Unfortunately, I found Brown’s chapter on Othello to be far too tangential, drifting the analysis away from the central thesis of the book. The beginning of the chapter presents Iago as the story’s “white other,” providing a thorough exploration of his manipulation of racial anxieties to torture Othello in a form of psychological and emotional rape. However, most of the chapter loses sight of the “white other,” instead describing forms of sexual trauma and violence inflicted on Black men and the history of the silencing of Black trauma. Brown presents this topic well, with ample research and clear theses, but only briefly pauses in these sections of the chapter to tie loose threads of this argument to Othello, lacking crucial textual analysis and explanation about the play or about the relationship to the “white other.” This argument about Othello’s relationship to the historical and modern Black experience of trauma is necessary work, but perhaps would be better presented in a separate publication and referenced in this chapter.
Towards the end of the book, beginning in the chapter on Othello, Brown begins to apply a more personal approach. In the most interesting example of this personal connection as a tool of analysis, The Comedy of Errors’s portrayal of identity confusion is related to Brown’s own experience with racial profiling to examine the pedagogical potential for the book’s central discussion. Through the connections between Brown’s experience as a Black man and Shakespeare’s characters’ experiences of “othering” through silencing, imprisonment, projection of identity, marginalization, erasure, death, and more, Brown expresses the necessity of looking within whiteness to find the white hegemony’s tools of oppression.
Brown’s arguments in this book will resonate deeply with critics, scholars, and Shakespeare readers who are interested in multi-faceted, antiracist approaches to early modern study. By necessarily relating intraracial dynamics to modern intraracial experiences, Brown turns the critique away from the Black “other” and onto white self-harm as a method of racist violence. Though his arguments are tangential at times, his thesis is sound and filled with intellect and urgency of equal measure. His personal approach, underlined by the work of Black scholars, Black theorists, and Black culture at large, creates a unique, urgent, and approachable argument that calls upon Shakespeareans everywhere to examine their own biases to these texts and their previous understanding of race relations in Shakespeare’s plays.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in exploring complex racial dynamics in Shakespeare's plays or how these plays can relate to the modern systems of anti-Blackness. Whether you're a theater practitioner, scholar, teacher, student, or general Shakespeare reader, this book is a fundamental read to inform an antiracist approach.
By placing a focus on intraracial rather than interracial othering, Brown transforms plays outside of the standard Shakespeare “race plays” into treasure troves of racial analysis. He reveals that many of the ways characters who are othered in Shakespeare’s canon are described in relation to blackness as a method of promoting white hegemony beyond the treatment of Black individuals. This is touched on throughout the book, through discussions of plays such as Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and centered primarily in his first chapter on Hamlet. Through these analyses, Brown shows how white characters can be “blackened” or turned into “white others” through their defiance of (or perceived defiance of) gender roles, sexual obedience, national pride, innocence, Christian law, or any other societal expectation placed on them. These examples help clearly define the birth and role of the white other.
When Brown does analyze “race plays,” he does so by shifting the discussions of racial analysis away from the characters that earn the plays their category of “race plays.” Historically, critical race approaches to such plays focus on deconstructing anti-Blackness and racism in the writing of the plays’ visibly non-white characters. In Brown’s approach of analyzing intraracial othering, he proposes looking at race beyond these characters. In perhaps the most well-argued and perspective-changing chapter, Brown looks at Titus Andronicus, insisting that the blame placed on Aaron as a catalyst of the play’s violence – by the play’s characters and even by early modern scholars – serves as a distraction from the play’s intraracial color-lines. Diagnosing the roles of the Romans and the Goths as the “whites” and “white others,” Brown exposes the cannibalistic, incestuous nature of white hegemony as it appears in and beyond Shakespeare’s plays. This approach is duplicated in the chapter on Antony and Cleopatra, in which Antony is assigned the role of “white other” due to his betrayal of Rome and therefore, his “whiteness.” By removing the Black characters as the central source of race in these plays, Brown opens another approach to examining Tamora’s and Antony’s relationship to whiteness and the world of these stories at large.
Some of the other arguments in this book are comparatively more tangential. The first features in Chapter 3, “On the Other Hand.” This brilliant title alludes to the pivoting of perspective from the previous chapters’ approaches – instead of discussing a white character who is “blackened” in the narrative, it discusses a Black character who is “whitened” in the narrative – as well as the chapter’s central argument: tracing female characters’ “white hands” as symbols of male attention and ownership. Though this point focuses on the “whitening” of a Black character rather than a white other, it ties into the narrative of the white other, used to present Antony’s proclamation of Cleopatra’s “white hand” as an act of conquest over her body and an attempt to reclaim his previously “white” and “superior” Roman reputation. The end of the chapter also reconnects to the central thesis of discussing whiteness as a tool of racial violence, when Cleopatra’s “white” hands are framed as a tool of violence against Black bodies as a call to consider the hidden violence against Blackness behind the “white” hand and its association with innocence through its whiteness.
Unfortunately, I found Brown’s chapter on Othello to be far too tangential, drifting the analysis away from the central thesis of the book. The beginning of the chapter presents Iago as the story’s “white other,” providing a thorough exploration of his manipulation of racial anxieties to torture Othello in a form of psychological and emotional rape. However, most of the chapter loses sight of the “white other,” instead describing forms of sexual trauma and violence inflicted on Black men and the history of the silencing of Black trauma. Brown presents this topic well, with ample research and clear theses, but only briefly pauses in these sections of the chapter to tie loose threads of this argument to Othello, lacking crucial textual analysis and explanation about the play or about the relationship to the “white other.” This argument about Othello’s relationship to the historical and modern Black experience of trauma is necessary work, but perhaps would be better presented in a separate publication and referenced in this chapter.
Towards the end of the book, beginning in the chapter on Othello, Brown begins to apply a more personal approach. In the most interesting example of this personal connection as a tool of analysis, The Comedy of Errors’s portrayal of identity confusion is related to Brown’s own experience with racial profiling to examine the pedagogical potential for the book’s central discussion. Through the connections between Brown’s experience as a Black man and Shakespeare’s characters’ experiences of “othering” through silencing, imprisonment, projection of identity, marginalization, erasure, death, and more, Brown expresses the necessity of looking within whiteness to find the white hegemony’s tools of oppression.
Brown’s arguments in this book will resonate deeply with critics, scholars, and Shakespeare readers who are interested in multi-faceted, antiracist approaches to early modern study. By necessarily relating intraracial dynamics to modern intraracial experiences, Brown turns the critique away from the Black “other” and onto white self-harm as a method of racist violence. Though his arguments are tangential at times, his thesis is sound and filled with intellect and urgency of equal measure. His personal approach, underlined by the work of Black scholars, Black theorists, and Black culture at large, creates a unique, urgent, and approachable argument that calls upon Shakespeareans everywhere to examine their own biases to these texts and their previous understanding of race relations in Shakespeare’s plays.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in exploring complex racial dynamics in Shakespeare's plays or how these plays can relate to the modern systems of anti-Blackness. Whether you're a theater practitioner, scholar, teacher, student, or general Shakespeare reader, this book is a fundamental read to inform an antiracist approach.
August 12, 2023
I think I need to read this book again before I can give it a complete review, but my initial response is to be blown away. I haven't read CRT in the context of Shakespeare before, so I had and have a lot to learn, but I feel like this is a good beginning. The notion of the White-Other really rings true to me from personal experience as a disabled white queer female-bodied human who has been in interracial relationships. It was kind of profound to see the othering of white characters and textual blackening of them through the different plays DSB analyzes.
Also, this book's reading of Othello finally opened up that play to me after years of hating for reasons I couldn't articulate. But here we have Iago as "mindfucker," gaslighting the hell out of Othello. Othello as trauma-survivor. Desdemona as White-Other. It makes so much sense to me now. The reading of Hamlet was also interesting. I've read a lot on Hamlet but this is the first time I've seen anyone note how he is blackened textually by the White folk in charge. I think I got less out of the reading of Anthony and Cleopatra because I'm used to a feminist reading of the play, and also it never occurred to me that Shakespeare's audience would conceive her as a Black woman. She was always described as "Greek" in my history and classics courses, and of course in reality while we know her father Ptomely was Greek, we don't know which of his wives or concubines was her mother or what her racial makeup might have been. Greek? Egyptian? Black African? A mix of all three? No one knows. But the play's the thing, so to speak, and I'm not sure I'm fully getting DSB's points about Cleopatra as a negative transgressive figure when I have mostly always seen her as a positive transgressive one. (Again, I need to reread.)
The final chapter is beautifully personal and heartbreaking and makes me wish I could wave a wand to end prejudice and fix the world. I mean, systemic racism is so much bigger than that, I know, but that's where my heart's at.
Highly recommended to Shakespeare scholars.
ARC
Also, this book's reading of Othello finally opened up that play to me after years of hating for reasons I couldn't articulate. But here we have Iago as "mindfucker," gaslighting the hell out of Othello. Othello as trauma-survivor. Desdemona as White-Other. It makes so much sense to me now. The reading of Hamlet was also interesting. I've read a lot on Hamlet but this is the first time I've seen anyone note how he is blackened textually by the White folk in charge. I think I got less out of the reading of Anthony and Cleopatra because I'm used to a feminist reading of the play, and also it never occurred to me that Shakespeare's audience would conceive her as a Black woman. She was always described as "Greek" in my history and classics courses, and of course in reality while we know her father Ptomely was Greek, we don't know which of his wives or concubines was her mother or what her racial makeup might have been. Greek? Egyptian? Black African? A mix of all three? No one knows. But the play's the thing, so to speak, and I'm not sure I'm fully getting DSB's points about Cleopatra as a negative transgressive figure when I have mostly always seen her as a positive transgressive one. (Again, I need to reread.)
The final chapter is beautifully personal and heartbreaking and makes me wish I could wave a wand to end prejudice and fix the world. I mean, systemic racism is so much bigger than that, I know, but that's where my heart's at.
Highly recommended to Shakespeare scholars.
ARC
October 9, 2023
Shakespeare's White Others by David Sterling Brown is an informative read, one that should generate a lot of reflection, yet one that didn't, for me, connect two main themes of the book.
The part of the book that is Shakespearean criticism is both fascinating and well-argued. Highlighting the way certain types of what we now readily label white people are treated as inferior (at best) human beings. There were several instances that I hadn't even considered in a similar vein, while most of the others are usually taught that way but through a more time-specific lens of nationality and/or ethnicity. Brown brought a great new perspective to all of these.
The part of the book that illustrates the many ways in which whites have, through time, pointed out their idea of what we now call white supremacism was excellent. How any group, whether from a different country, a different religion, or with a different skin color, was shown to be lacking in what the powers to be considered proper personhood, which was basically Europeanness.
I didn't, however, completely buy into the parts that stretched credulity to make a direct causal relationship between Shakespeare (through various characters) illustrating bigotry toward those who were seen as different and contemporary anti-Black racism. I certainly see the connection and the continuous thread of such thought and presentation within culture, I just don't believe there is quite such a neat overlay of the anti-Black racism of even the past 50 years onto the racism and bigotry of that time frame. Yes, I readily agree that color was part of the dynamic then as now, but the desire to make the two entirely different cultures and contexts neatly overlay to prove a point that can be proven with so many other and better examples just seems like a stretch to me.
I highly recommend this for both of the themes I mention above, and certainly weigh his arguments for a more direct causality. Those in Shakespeare study as well as those who study the roots of the human desire to make in and out groups that they perceive as definitive. Much of the analysis of contemporary events is also valuable for those within academia as well as those who should take it as a call to action. Remember, that call to action needs to be both inward as well as outward, you can fix yourself while working to fix the world. I hope to reread this in maybe 6 months or so and see if my impression of the connections as more causal and intended changes.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
The part of the book that is Shakespearean criticism is both fascinating and well-argued. Highlighting the way certain types of what we now readily label white people are treated as inferior (at best) human beings. There were several instances that I hadn't even considered in a similar vein, while most of the others are usually taught that way but through a more time-specific lens of nationality and/or ethnicity. Brown brought a great new perspective to all of these.
The part of the book that illustrates the many ways in which whites have, through time, pointed out their idea of what we now call white supremacism was excellent. How any group, whether from a different country, a different religion, or with a different skin color, was shown to be lacking in what the powers to be considered proper personhood, which was basically Europeanness.
I didn't, however, completely buy into the parts that stretched credulity to make a direct causal relationship between Shakespeare (through various characters) illustrating bigotry toward those who were seen as different and contemporary anti-Black racism. I certainly see the connection and the continuous thread of such thought and presentation within culture, I just don't believe there is quite such a neat overlay of the anti-Black racism of even the past 50 years onto the racism and bigotry of that time frame. Yes, I readily agree that color was part of the dynamic then as now, but the desire to make the two entirely different cultures and contexts neatly overlay to prove a point that can be proven with so many other and better examples just seems like a stretch to me.
I highly recommend this for both of the themes I mention above, and certainly weigh his arguments for a more direct causality. Those in Shakespeare study as well as those who study the roots of the human desire to make in and out groups that they perceive as definitive. Much of the analysis of contemporary events is also valuable for those within academia as well as those who should take it as a call to action. Remember, that call to action needs to be both inward as well as outward, you can fix yourself while working to fix the world. I hope to reread this in maybe 6 months or so and see if my impression of the connections as more causal and intended changes.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
February 4, 2024
'Shakespeare's White Others'
by
David Sterling Brown
Rating:5/5
Review:
"📚✨ 'Shakespeare's White Others' by David Sterling Brown is an absolute literary gem that has left me in awe! 🔥 Brown's exploration of racially white 'others' in Shakespearean characters like Richard III and Hamlet is a profound journey into the complexities of identity and the perpetuation of anti-Blackness. 🌍
🎭 The brilliance of Brown's work lies in his meticulous deconstruction of whiteness in Shakespeare's plays. 🤯 He not only highlights the racialized category of the 'white other' during the Elizabethan era but also underscores Shakespeare's crucial role in its formation. The author's strategic insights, coupled with personal experiences, add layers of depth to this critical analysis. 🧠💭
💡 The book serves as a milestone in literature studies, critical whiteness studies, and critical race studies. Brown's eloquent writing and passionate delivery propel the reader into a realm where Shakespearean theatrical texts become engines of both white identity formation and a powerful expose of the illusion of white racial solidarity. 🚀
🤩 What struck me most was Brown's ability to unravel racial themes in characters, presenting a perspective that challenges conventional interpretations. His discussions on contemporary events and their connection to historical racism provide a thought-provoking call to action. 🌟
📖 While some may find the direct causal relationship between Shakespearean bigotry and modern anti-Black racism a point of contention, the overall impact of this book is undeniably transformative. It's a must-read for those delving into Shakespeare studies, critical race studies, and anyone eager to explore the roots of human in-group dynamics. 👥
👏 Dr. Brown has crafted a compelling narrative that not only pushes the boundaries of literary analysis but also invites readers to engage in a deeper understanding of the profound societal issues intertwined with classic works. 🙌🔥 This book is a captivating journey that lingers in your thoughts long after you've turned the last page.
#BookReview #DavidSterlingBrown #LiteraryGenius
by
David Sterling Brown
Rating:5/5
Review:
"📚✨ 'Shakespeare's White Others' by David Sterling Brown is an absolute literary gem that has left me in awe! 🔥 Brown's exploration of racially white 'others' in Shakespearean characters like Richard III and Hamlet is a profound journey into the complexities of identity and the perpetuation of anti-Blackness. 🌍
🎭 The brilliance of Brown's work lies in his meticulous deconstruction of whiteness in Shakespeare's plays. 🤯 He not only highlights the racialized category of the 'white other' during the Elizabethan era but also underscores Shakespeare's crucial role in its formation. The author's strategic insights, coupled with personal experiences, add layers of depth to this critical analysis. 🧠💭
💡 The book serves as a milestone in literature studies, critical whiteness studies, and critical race studies. Brown's eloquent writing and passionate delivery propel the reader into a realm where Shakespearean theatrical texts become engines of both white identity formation and a powerful expose of the illusion of white racial solidarity. 🚀
🤩 What struck me most was Brown's ability to unravel racial themes in characters, presenting a perspective that challenges conventional interpretations. His discussions on contemporary events and their connection to historical racism provide a thought-provoking call to action. 🌟
📖 While some may find the direct causal relationship between Shakespearean bigotry and modern anti-Black racism a point of contention, the overall impact of this book is undeniably transformative. It's a must-read for those delving into Shakespeare studies, critical race studies, and anyone eager to explore the roots of human in-group dynamics. 👥
👏 Dr. Brown has crafted a compelling narrative that not only pushes the boundaries of literary analysis but also invites readers to engage in a deeper understanding of the profound societal issues intertwined with classic works. 🙌🔥 This book is a captivating journey that lingers in your thoughts long after you've turned the last page.
#BookReview #DavidSterlingBrown #LiteraryGenius
August 10, 2024
Shakespears White Others is a literary gem written by the author David Sterling Brown, published in October 2023. Exploring the portrayal of racially white ‘others’ in Shakespeare’s characters such as Richard III, Hamlet, and Tamora – individuals who are perpetually not fully ‘white enough’ – this insightful and persuasive work sheds light on how such categorizations perpetuate anti-blackness and reinforce white dominance. David Sterling Brown delivers a comprehensive critique of whiteness in Shakespeare’s works, arguing that the concept of the ‘white other’ was already established as a racial category during the Elizabethan period, and that Shakespeare played a significant role in its development. The excellence of Brown’s critique is evident in his detailed examination of whiteness within Shakespeare’s plays. He not only points out the racial nature of the ‘white other’ in Elizabethan times but also highlights Shakespeare’s pivotal role in its creation. The author’s strategic insights, combined with personal anecdotes, add depth to this critical examination. Shakespearean plays, as analyzed by Brown, challenge the myth of white racial unity and reflect white identity, making a significant contribution to literature studies and critical race studies. Brown’s skill in uncovering racial themes in characters challenges traditional interpretations, while discussing current events and historical racism, offering a compelling argument for change. This book explores the connection between Shakespearean prejudice and anti-black racism, offering a compelling narrative that expands literary analysis and encourages deeper understanding of societal issues in classic literature. With over 200 pages, it is a recommended read for those interested in Shakespeare studies and critical race studies. Highly recommended from my side.
November 25, 2023
Shakespeare's White Others offers an intriguing premise: studying race in Shakespeare beyond the standard studies of raced characters (Shylock, Othello, Cleopatra) by examining whiteness. Brown carries out this study by distinguishing between the white ideal and the "white other." Its freshness and relevancy are underscored by the striking cover design.
The strength of Brown's argument is the demonstration of the malleability and instability of whiteness as a racial category. I am reminded of how certain raced outsiders can, over time, get folded into whiteness (particularly various European immigrants to early 20th century America). The chapter on Hamlet's failed performance of masculinity as a failure of whiteness is especially well argued. However, the challenge of this argument is that the mode of examination shifts, depending on the play. I'm not sure that equating characters labeled "dark" or "black" due to character flaws to a white other is a sufficient means of categorization. The characters who are then eligible for this study are so wide as to almost be amorphous. While this does mimic the category of whiteness itself, it's a little unwieldy for establishing the argument's typography. Even so, I appreciate this intervention into Shakespeare studies and critical race theory.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The strength of Brown's argument is the demonstration of the malleability and instability of whiteness as a racial category. I am reminded of how certain raced outsiders can, over time, get folded into whiteness (particularly various European immigrants to early 20th century America). The chapter on Hamlet's failed performance of masculinity as a failure of whiteness is especially well argued. However, the challenge of this argument is that the mode of examination shifts, depending on the play. I'm not sure that equating characters labeled "dark" or "black" due to character flaws to a white other is a sufficient means of categorization. The characters who are then eligible for this study are so wide as to almost be amorphous. While this does mimic the category of whiteness itself, it's a little unwieldy for establishing the argument's typography. Even so, I appreciate this intervention into Shakespeare studies and critical race theory.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 18, 2024
While Brown can get a little away from the subject at times, this book is a must-read for any artist looking to direct, act in, or otherwise engage with a Shakespeare play as well as those who consider themselves Shakespeare scholars or fans, especially those who are white.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews