Mysticism in Othello

Mysticism and the occult are two large elements in Shakespeare's "Othello". This fascination with the Moor as "other" and strange were pepetuated by the explorative nature of the time, and the lack of scientific knowledge to distinguish truth from fiction.

There are many references to Othello and magic, many of which he makes himself - specifically when discussing Desdemona's hankerchief. This mystical origin story fits well into the views of society, as folk lore, lessons, and backgrounds were often told with the incusion of a fantastical element, as seen in the collection of fables, "A Choice of Emblemes". In fact, so common was the connection between folk tales and magic that Shakespeare's contemporaries often wondered if the amount of occultism in "Othello" meant that the bard had written it as a cautionary tale with some overall moral to glean. This is most extensively discussed in "A Short View of Tragedy". 

Overall, it is hard to have Shakespeare's famous Moor without the mysticism that follows him. A product not only of the Bard's imagination but of the fascinations of the time, "Othello" carries with it a constant theme of the occult - a theme which has been analyzed extensively ever since it was first performed and will be discussed many more years to come.