“devenir nègre”

21:01 Dec 4, 2018 

I think that how you translate this depends upon the intention of the "new interpretation". Is it an interpretation of Othello as he would have been perceived in Shakespeare's time. Shakespeare was born in 1564, about 70 years after the fall of Muslim Spain. The "Moorish" rule of Al Andalus had lasted for seven centuries. Though one would expect England to be on the Christian side of that conflict, Christian Spain was the main enemy in Shakespeare's day. There had been a recent (1600) Moroccan embassy to the court of Queen Elizabeth and there were strong trading and diplomatic ties between Morocco and England. King Ahmad sought Elizabeth's agreement to a joint invasion of Spain. It isn't clear whether Shakespeare meant Othello to be Arab or Black, as blackness would have covered either at that time. Also, Othello was a respected, powerful Venetian general. The tragedy depends upon the fact that he fell from a great height.

On the other hand, if the "new interpretation" is about race in the 21st century, then you need it to make the translation fit that interpretation and 17th century racial understandings would no longer be very relevant.