Othello Subtitle [extra Quality]

Romantic-era productions (Edmund Kean, Laurence Olivier in later years) restored the full subtitle but reinterpreted "Moor" as exotic royalty, not a racial slur. The subtitle The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice was printed grandly, emphasizing heroic passion rather than social alienation.

Why does the subtitle say "Moor" rather than "black" or "African"? Because "Moor" is a European construct. It tells us more about the Venetian (and English) viewpoint than about Othello himself. The subtitle, therefore, is not objective—it is perspectival. It forces us to ask: who is naming whom? othello subtitle