Othello: A Contextual History

Othello: A Contextual History
ISBN-10
0521587085
ISBN-13
9780521587082
Series
Othello
Category
Drama
Pages
262
Language
English
Published
1996-12-05
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Author
Virginia Mason Vaughan

Description

Shakespeare's Othello has exercised a powerful fascination over audiences for centuries with its portrayal of destructive jealousy. This study is a major exercise in the historicisation of Othello in which the author examines contemporary writings and demonstrates how they were embedded in the text of Othello: discourse about conflict between Turk and Venetian treatises on the professionalisation of England's military forces, representations of Africans and blackamoors, and narratives depicting jealous husbands. The second section traces Othello's history in England and the United States from the Restoration to the late 1980s, using illustrations where appropriate. Each chapter highlights a specific historical period, actor or production to demonstrate how and why elements from Shakespeare's text were emphasised or repressed. Othello is revealed as a significant shaper of cultural meaning.

Other editions

  • Othello
    • 2018-04-05
    • - pages
    • Ebook
    • Cambridge University Press
  • Othello
    • 2018-03-31
    • 240 pages
    • Paperback
    • Cambridge University Press
  • Othello
    • 2014-01-23
    • 264 pages
    • Paperback
    • Cambridge University Press
  • Othello
    • 2005-11-17
    • 244 pages
    • Paperback
    • Cambridge University Press

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