Shakespeare and Oronooko

First, Oronooko was one of my favorite readings for this course. While the text is outright disturbing at times and hard to read, the underlying message of slavery and the psychology within each character was highly influential. I thought it was interesting to compare the descriptive language and behavior that characterized the protagonist in racially diverse literature.

The language used to describe Oronooko resembled Shakespeare's description of Othello in "Othello". The troubles and tribulations that Othello had faced were expressed in his long monologues throughout the play, explaining where he had been to draw from experiences that made him the man he had become. It was interesting to see Behn describe Oronooko as, "This great and just character... he spoke French and English... He was pretty tall, but of a shape the most exact that can be fancied"(2317). She continues to describe his physical attributes from his eyes and nose to the color of his ebony skin. Desdemona also described Othello's appearance in a similar way. His skin was dark, his nose was broad, his eyes were piercing, and he was well traveled and well spoken in more than one language. Obviously Othello and Oronooko have something else in common too, they both strangle their wife.

I know Shakespeare borrowed many ideas and developed characters from other works, but I wonder if he used Behn's character to develop his own. I also wonder if the love triangle in "The Tempest" with Caliban was borrowed from Imoinda, the king and Oronooko's relationships.