William Shakespeare: Othello: Essays, Articles, Reviews

by Nicholas Potter (Editor)

Overview

Othello is perhaps Shakespeare's most troublesome tragedy. While it has retained its popularity on the stage, many critics have struggled to come to terms with it. The Romantics warmed to the figure of Othello himself and wrung their hands over the plight of Desdemona; Modernists looked down on the play as an achievement of Shakespeare's stagecraft rather than of his imagination.

Excerpting and discussing the critical history of the play, from the earliest pronouncements to present-day criticism, this guide does justice to the variety of opinion and points out significant themes and recurring critical concerns, without glossing over the ugly racism of many critical accounts and the inadequacy of many attempts to face up to the issues raised by the play.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231124294
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	08/29/2001
Series:	Columbia Critical Guides
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nicholas Potter teaches at the Swansea Institute of Higher Education.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	5
Chapter 1	Restoring Order: 'The Tragedy of the Handkerchief'	7
Chapter 2	The Age of Johnson: The Triumph of Reason	32
Chapter 3	The Nineteenth Century: Romantics to Victorians	56
Chapter 4	The Moderns: The Ghost of Rymer	98
Chapter 5	The Mid-Century: Revaluation	132
Chapter 6	'The Play's the Thing': Some Postmodern Voices	155
	Notes	173
	Selected Bibliography	178
	Suggested Further Reading	180