As tawny (black) as a MOOR¹

Insights

Intensity of Color or Emotion

The comparison extends beyond skin color to describe anything of an intense black or dark hue, whether a physical object, a mood, or a moral state. For example, a person can become 'black as a Moor' with rage.

Symbol of the Foreign 'Other'

In the context of Renaissance Europe, the 'Moor' often symbolized the foreign and exotic 'other'. The simile could therefore imply not just a physical appearance but also qualities of foreignness or alienness attributed to Moors.

Connotation of Sin and Evil

Drawing on a symbolic system where whiteness was associated with purity and blackness with sin, the simile could carry a negative moral connotation, equating a person or act with evil or malevolence.

Historical Symbolism of the 'Moor'

The term 'Moor' in the early modern English imagination was an ambiguous descriptor for dark-skinned peoples, including North African Berbers, Arabs, and sub-Saharan Africans. This proverb reflects the era's use of this figure as a complex symbol of exoticism, otherness, and, as seen in Shakespeare's villain Aaron, perceived malevolence.

Cultural and Racial Bias

This simile is a stark artifact of early modern racial ideology, establishing dark skin as a notable deviation from an unstated white norm. It relies on and reinforces cultural stereotypes, reducing a diverse group of people to a single physical trait used as a benchmark for color.

Psychology of 'Othering'

The proverb illustrates a psychological tendency to 'other' foreign peoples by turning their physical appearance into a metaphor for abstract concepts, such as intense anger ('became as blacke as a Moor'). This conflation of physical traits with emotional or moral states is a key feature of stereotyping.

Rhetorical Devices

Simile

The proverb is a simile, using the structure 'as...as' to create a direct and vivid comparison that reinforces a cultural stereotype.

Symbolism

The 'Moor' functions as a potent cultural symbol, embodying concepts of blackness, foreignness, and racial otherness within the early modern European worldview.

Epithet

The adjectives 'tawny' and 'black' serve as racialized epithets that become habitually associated with the 'Moor', fixing the stereotype in the language.