Othello

by Bloom, Harold

• ISBN13: 9780791098431
• ISBN10: 0791098435
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-28
• Publisher: Facts on File

Summary

The most striking difference between Othello and Shakespeare's other tragedies is its more intimate scale. Because the play focuses on personal rather than public life, Othello's private descent into jealous obsession is especially chilling to behold. This invaluable new study guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies contains a selection of the finest criticism through the centuries on Othello, including commentaries by such important critics as Voltaire, Charles Lamb, A. C. Swinburne, T. S. Eliot, and many others. Studients will also benefit from the additional features in this volume, including an introduction by Harold Bloom, an accessible summary of the plot, an analysis of several key passages, a comprehensive list of characters, a biography of Shakespeare, essays discussing the main currents of criticism in each century since Shakespeare's time, and more. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Series Introduction	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Biography of William Shakespeare	p. 1
Summary of Othello	p. 5
Key Passages in Othello	p. 23
List of Characters in Othello	p. 41
Criticism Through the Ages	p. 43
Othello in the Seventeenth Century	p. 45
1666-From The Diary of Samuel Pepys	p. 46
1693-From A Short View of Tragedy	p. 47
1694-"Some Reflections on Mr. Rymer's Short View of Tragedy and an Attempt at a Vindication of Shakespeare," from "Remarks on the Plays of Shakespear"	p. 75
Othello in the Eighteenth Century	p. 83
1710-"On the Funeral of Betterton," from The Tatler	p. 85
1713-"On the Tragedy of Othello," from The Guardian	p. 86
1717-From The Censor	p. 89
1733-"The Orphan," from Philosophical Letters	p. 90
1765-Othello (notes), from The Plays of William Shakespear	p. 93
1775-From The Morality of Shakespeare's Drama Illustrated	p. 94
Othello in the Nineteenth Century	p. 97
1809-"Criticisms on Shakspeare's Tragedies," from Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature	p. 99
1811-"On the Tragedies of Shakespeare," from The Reflector	p. 102
1817-"Othello," from Characters of Shakespear's Plays	p. 102
1818-"Notes on Othello," from Lectures and Notes on Shakspere and Other English Poets	p. 113
1836-"The Character of Desdemona," from The American Monthly Magazine	p. 117
1864-From William Shakespeare	p. 126
1880-From A Study of Shakespeare	p. 127
1897-"Mainly About Shakespeare," from London Saturday Review	p. 134
Othello in the Twentieth Century	p. 137
1904-"Othello," from Shakespearean Tragedy	p. 138
1927-"The Hero Cheering Himself Up," from "Shakespeare and the Stoicism of Seneca"	p. 156
1930-"The Othello Music," from The Wheel of Fire	p. 157
1936-"The Best Policy," from Life and Letters To-Day	p. 179
1951-"Othello," from The Meaning of Shakespeare	p. 186
1951-"'Othello': An Essay to Illustrate a Method," from The Hudson Review	p. 224
1956-"Othello: The Unheroic Tragic Hero," from Magic in the Web: Action and Language in Othello	p. 252
1961-"The Joker in the Pack," from Encounter	p. 261
1983-"Othello," from A New Mimesis: Shakespeare and the Representation of Reality	p. 280
1992-"Introduction," from Iago	p. 292
Othello in the Twenty-first Century	p. 297
2000-"Othello," from Shakespeare's Language	p. 297
Bibliography	p. 313
Acknowledgments	p. 315
Index	p. 317
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

An invaluable study guide to Shakespeare's Othello.
The most striking difference between Othello and Shakespeare's other tragedies is its more intimate scale. Since the play focuses on personal rather than public life, Othello's private descent into jealous obsession is especially chilling to behold.
This invaluable study guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest plays contains a selection of the finest criticism from the 17th and 18th centuries up to the 21st. Students will benefit from the additional features included in this volume, such as an introduction by Harold Bloom, an accessible summary, analysis of key passages, a comprehensive list of characters, a biography of Shakespeare, and more.
Includes criticism from:
Voltaire (1733)
Samuel Johnson (1765)
William Hazlitt (1817)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1818)
John Quincy Adams (1836)
George Bernard Shaw (1897)
Harold C. Goddard (1951)
Kenneth Burke (1951)
W.H. Auden (1961)
A.D. Nuttall (1983)
Frank Kermode (2000).