Cambridge Student Guide to Othello

by Pamela Mason

• ISBN13: 9780521008112
• ISBN10: 0521008115
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-16
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

What is Othello about? This Cambridge Student Guide will help students to evaluate the historical, social and cultural contexts for a broader understanding of Shakespeare's play. Contents include an introduction; detailed running commentary on the text; insight into historical, social and cultural contexts; analysis of the language; an overview of critical approaches and different interpretations; essay-writing tips and lists of recommended resources.

Table of Contents

Introduction	4	(6)
Commentary	6	(53)
Contents	59	(19)
What did Shakespeare write?	59	(2)
What did Shakespeare read?	61	(8)
Tragedy	67	(2)
What was Shakespeare's England like?	69	(9)
Politics	69	(1)
Race and colour	70	(3)
Marriage	73	(3)
Sexual jealousy	76	(2)
Language	78	(12)
Verse	78	(5)
Prose	83	(1)
Soliloquy	84	(1)
Antithesis	85	(1)
Songs	86	(1)
Imagery	86	(4)
Critical approaches	90	(18)
Traditional criticism	90	(5)
Feminist criticism	95	(2)
Performance criticism	97	(9)
Psychoanalytic criticism	106	(2)
Organising your responses	108	(17)
Writing about an extract	109	(8)
Writing an essay	117	(4)
Writing about character	121	(3)
A note on examiners	124	(1)
Resources	125	(1)
Books	125	(2)
Screen versions of Othello	127	(1)
Screen adaptations	127	(1)
Sound recordings	128