Shakespeare's Othello has exercised a powerful fascination over audiences with its portrayal of destructive jealousy. This study is a major exercise in the historicization of Othello in which the author examines contemporary writings and demonstrates how they were embedded in the text. Subsequent chapters analyze representations and interpretations from the Restoration to the present, using illustrations of performances and performers. Othello is revealed as a significant shaper of cultural meaning.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"As a nuanced and selective work of Shakespearian scholarship, Othello: a contextual history is a substantial achievement." Theatre Research International
"Othello: a contextual history represents a genuinely new way of doing Shakespeare studies; a synthesis of performance and context histories that works only because it is so intelligently and compellingly historicised." Meridian
"As dramaturg for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival's 1996 production of Othello, I had the opportunity to peruse and use the contents of a full library shelf devoted to Shakespeare's tragedy. None of these works, however, proved more helpful than one that came in the mail shortly before we began rehearsal: Virgina Mason Vaughan's Othello: A Contextual History....this book provides a balanced, insightful, and original contribution to the field of Othello scholarship. What sets it apart from other works in this crowded field is that it also manages to be an invaluable aid for a theatre practitioner, as my dog-eared and much higlighted copy can testify." Geron E. Coale, Theatre Studies
"This eloquently written book offers, a mix of the old and the new....Despite the familiarity of some of its materials and the ease of some of its arguments, Othello: A Contextual History is full of fresh and informative discussion....Anyone interested in the rich web of meanings that Shakespeare's Othello has created and absorbed will want to start here, with Othello: A Contextual History." Emily C. Bartels, Modern Philology
"Othello: a contextual history represents a genuinely new way of doing Shakespeare studies; a synthesis of performance and context histories that works only because it is so intelligently and compellingly historicised." Meridian
"As dramaturg for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival's 1996 production of Othello, I had the opportunity to peruse and use the contents of a full library shelf devoted to Shakespeare's tragedy. None of these works, however, proved more helpful than one that came in the mail shortly before we began rehearsal: Virgina Mason Vaughan's Othello: A Contextual History....this book provides a balanced, insightful, and original contribution to the field of Othello scholarship. What sets it apart from other works in this crowded field is that it also manages to be an invaluable aid for a theatre practitioner, as my dog-eared and much higlighted copy can testify." Geron E. Coale, Theatre Studies
"This eloquently written book offers, a mix of the old and the new....Despite the familiarity of some of its materials and the ease of some of its arguments, Othello: A Contextual History is full of fresh and informative discussion....Anyone interested in the rich web of meanings that Shakespeare's Othello has created and absorbed will want to start here, with Othello: A Contextual History." Emily C. Bartels, Modern Philology
Book Description
Shakespeare's Othello has exercised a powerful fascination over audiences 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. Subsequent chapters analyse representations and interpretations from the Restoration to the present, using illustrations of performances and performers. Othello is revealed as a significant shaper of cultural meaning.
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willow song scene, patriarchal eye, senate scene, temptation scene, council scene, patriarchal territories, brothel scene Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Sir Francis, Paul Robeson, United States, Drury Lane, Henry Irving, Orson Welles, Shakespeare's Othello, English Renaissance, Marvin Rosenberg, Margaret Webster, Boston Globe, Ellen Terry, Leo Africanus, William Charles Macready, Covent Garden Othello, Peggy Ashcroft, Samuel Foote, Shakespeare Quarterly, Venetian Senate, Civil War, John Hill, Salvini's Othello, Samuel Sandford, Stephen Greenblatt New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
willow song scene, patriarchal eye, senate scene, temptation scene, council scene, patriarchal territories, brothel scene Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Sir Francis, Paul Robeson, United States, Drury Lane, Henry Irving, Orson Welles, Shakespeare's Othello, English Renaissance, Marvin Rosenberg, Margaret Webster, Boston Globe, Ellen Terry, Leo Africanus, William Charles Macready, Covent Garden Othello, Peggy Ashcroft, Samuel Foote, Shakespeare Quarterly, Venetian Senate, Civil War, John Hill, Salvini's Othello, Samuel Sandford, Stephen Greenblatt New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 79
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37
books
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- Paul Robeson by Martin Duberman on 8 pages
- Commonwealth and Government of Venice by Contarini on page 16, page 17, and page 30
- Othello: New Perspectives by Virginia Mason Vaughan in Front Matter, page 200, and page 214
- Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare: Volume 7: Major Tragedies (vol. 7) by Geoffrey Bullough in Front Matter, page 25, and page 83
- Theatre in the Victorian Age (Cambridge Musical Texts and Monographs) by Michael Richard Booth on page 135, page 136, and page 137
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- William Shakespeare's Othello: A Routledge Study Guide and Sourcebook (Routledge Guides to Literature) by Andrew Hadfield on 10 pages
- William Shakespeare's Othello: A Sourcebook (Routledge Guides to Literature) by Andrew Hadfield on 8 pages
- English Ethnicity and Race in Early Modern Drama by Mary Floyd-Wilson on 5 pages
- Orson Welles, Shakespeare, and Popular Culture by Michael Anderegg in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Women and Race in Early Modern Texts by Joyce Green MacDonald on page 145, and Back Matter
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