Othello (Shakespeare, Signet Classic) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author)

Book Description

Series: Shakespeare, Signet Classic | Publication Date: April 1, 1998

An exciting new edition of the complete works of Shakespeare with these features: Illustrated with photographs from New York Shakespeare Festival productions, vivid readable readable introductions for each play by noted scholar David Bevington, a lively personal foreword by Joseph Papp, an insightful essay on the play in performance, modern spelling and pronunciation, up-to-date annotated bibliographies, and convenient listing of key passages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics; Revised edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451526856
• ISBN-13: 978-0451526854
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Playwrights, A-Z > ( S )
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Shakespeare, William
  • #24 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > British > Shakespeare

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL!, April 22, 2006

By 

M. Stromyer "Andrew Stro" (Towson (Baltimore), Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Othello (Shakespeare, Signet Classic) (Paperback)

Though I am not a particular fan of Shakespearian work, I instantly fell in love wioth Othello. This play is one of the greatest things ever written. Never has a playwright combined love, extreme decpeption, jealousy, anger, and fear in a play like Shakespeare has in Othello.

Even if you are not a fan of Shakespeare, I highlky recommend this play.

If you do not wish to read the play then I would recommend going out and renting or buying the movie "O" with Josh Hartnet, Julia Stiles, and Mikih Phifer. I would rent/but the 2 disc version because the second disc includes the original silent version of "Othello" from the 1920s.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Will, really bad commentary (Signet Classic), December 28, 2007

By 

Harry Eagar (Maui) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Othello (Shakespeare, Signet Classic) (Paperback)

Forty-plus years ago, when I first started reading Shakespeare, I liked the Signet Classic editions.

They were cheap and handy, and the play texts were just about right for a beginner: clear, with an indication of variant and disputed readings without overwhelming the play; a simple, convenient way of glossing the hard words; and useful short explications of some of the allusions.

Recently, preparing to go see a production of "Othello," I picked up the Signet Classic version to re-read, and I did something I had not done in my student days: I read the supporting material.

The background to the original staging and Renaissance playcraft was unexceptionable, but when I got to the "new dramatic criticism," I was appalled.

Not all of it was new. Of three essays, two dated from 1956 and 1960 and no doubt were part of the first issue in 1963. These were tedious and obvious, just the sort of thing that took all the enjoyment out of studying Shakespeare in school.

The third, dated 1980, had been added to pander to current campus fads -- not something you need when reading a Jacobean text. The editors got a three-fer: an essay by Madelon Sprengnether that coughed up psychoanalysis, feminism and PoMo French-Belgian trendiness in a convenient but indigestible hairball.

It's hard to imagine that still in 1980, people were taking Freud seriously and disgusting to see Shakespeare subjected to Belgian Nazis. Of the feminism, all I can say is that sometimes a sword is just a sword.

I have read a fair amount of Shakespeare criticism and liked little of it. But until Sprengnether, none of it disgusted me.

The copy I picked up second-hand dated from 1986. No doubt in the two decades since, more "new criticism" has been added to keep up with the dumbing down of the campuses. To 21st century students, here's some advice. You will be better off doing what I used to do: Stick by the big fish and let his remoras tag along unheeded.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not easy to understand., April 8, 2010

By 

Love-my-guns Man "Destitute trucker" (91765 USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Othello (Shakespeare, Signet Classic) (Paperback)

I ordered this book because its required reading for my English essay class. Strongly advice you order the Cliff Notes to accompany this Shakespeare play, and you might want to order the DVD movie version as well. You can also research the basics of the story at Wikepedia and other websites if you google or Yahoo "Othello."