Perhaps this is more fitting on /int/, but I think here the conversation

>>1190148
/lit/

>IAGO
>Even now, now, very now, an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe.

>OTHELLO
>Her name, that was as fresh As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black As mine own face.

>>1190148
Clearly black, just like Dido, Cleopatra, Hannibal etc.

>>1190148
Othello is simply referred to as a Moor which was a pretty ambiguous term for the time. It could mean anything from sub-saharan to arab. I think Othello used to be portrayed as sub-saharan more often because it was more exotic. Now it's just because there's a bigger pool of black actors.

>>1190148
>or does it not really matter at all as long as he is swarthy and foreign?
I think this is the gist of it. And keep in mind "Black" was often used to refer to people who were just generally swarthier than typical. The "Black Irish" are a good example.

Arab, moor, sub-saharan, doesn't really matter.

>>1190148
He's referred to as "thick-lips" in the text, which hints a bit at sub-Saharan.

>>1190292
Does swarthy only apply to darker skinned men or is it a general term for handsome and mysterious? I've always been confused on what it's specific connotation because I see it just used for "rugged handsomeness"

>>1192463
Swarthy generally refers to darker, course haired individuals, usually with a beard...

>>1190148
Black Berber