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- Othello
- Othello and criticism
- Othello and jealousy
- Othello and Iago
DVDs
- OthelloCall Number: DVD PR2829 .A23 .O85 2004Publication Date: 2004Cast: Ian McKellen, Imogen Stubbs, Willard White, Michael Grandage, Clive Swift, Sean Baker, John Burgess, Brian Lawson, David Hounslow, Philip Sully, Zoë Wanamaker, Marsha Hunt.
Issues in Tragedy: Assignment and Resources for Othello
Essay Assignment 2: Issues in Tragedy
(Excerpted from Steven Chiolis' Spring 2011 assignment).
**Please refer to S. Chiolis' most recent assignment for details and instructions.**
Our discussions in class and literary studies have been about raising and following several lines of questioning regarding form and content in tragedy. The purpose of this second essay is to explore these matters further as you write an interpretive argument.
You have a choice of works for this essay: select Oedipus the King, Antigone, or Othello. Choose a theme or issue raised by the play, make a claim about a resonable way to interpret it and write a 4-6 page paper that supports this proposition. Because an interpretive essay is an argument to readers already family with the work selected (and thus are interested in your critical opinion), you want to offer an essay that reflects a close reading, a focused consulting of other sources, and a good deal of questioning.
Naturally, you will first need to choose a topic for your essay. Prewriting strategies will help you explore and settle on this, and reading other writers' views will enrich your own understanding. You will find plenty of controversies to enter as you think about the play selected - write yourself into a conversation that has continued for centuries.
Research will prove very useful in your writing endeavor. When properly cited, opposing views can be directly attributed to other critics, and support for your position can also be enlisted from such sources. As you take advantage of such material, provide proper documentation using the MLA Guidelines on a Works Cited page.
Research Requirements:
You will need a minimum of four sources in addition to the play itself, all of which will be integrated into your writing and properly cited according to MLA standards. Research must be gathered from LPC library materials, whether these be electronic or in print. All sources must be correctly documented on a Works Cited page.
Selected Book Titles
Othello by Call Number: PR2829 .P67 2002ISBN: 0719027268Publication Date: 2002-06-27Of all Shakespeare's tragedies, Othello, with its issues of racism, jealousy and sexual stereotyping seems most immediate to contemporary audiences. Traces Othello's acting tradition as it has affected the roles of Othello, Desdemona and Iago - demonstrating the emphasis placed on different characters in different countries. Examines various stage and screen versions of the play which reflect or challenge current views about race and gender. In depth study of famous Othello actor Paul Robeson, comparing his career to that of Ira Aldridge. The range of productions examined means that the book will appeal to all students and enthusiasts of the theatre, as well as those in the field of ethnic and cultural approaches to Shakespeare
Othello by Call Number: PR2829 .A2 B5 2008ISBN: 9780791095751Publication Date: 2008Provides a plot synopsis, list of characters, and analysis of several key passages, and a selection of the best criticism on Othello through the centuries.
These are just a few select titles from the Las Positas College Library.
Use the library's catalog to locate additional titles.
Books can be checked out using your LPC or Chabot student ID.
Understanding Othello by Call Number: PR2829 .N65 2000ISBN: 0313309868Publication Date: 2000By combining primary documents with commentary, this guide considers many theatrical, cultural, social, and political concerns at the core of Othello. A literary analysis chapter addresses such topics as the nature of tragedy and the source of the play.
Othello and Interpretive Traditions by Call Number: eBookISBN: 1587292971Publication Date: 2012-02-01During the past twenty years or so, Othello has become the Shakespearean tragedy that speaks most powerfully to our contemporary concerns. Focusing on race and gender (and on class, ethnicity, sexuality, and nationality), the play talks about what audiences want to talk about. Yet at the same time, as refracted through Iago, it forces us to hear what we do not want to hear; like the characters in the play, we become trapped in our own prejudicial malice and guilt.
The Politics of Paul Robeson's Othello by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781604738254Publication Date: 2010-10-27Lindsey R. Swindall examines the historical and political context of acclaimed African American actor Paul Robeson's three portrayals of Shakespeare's Othello in the United Kingdom and the United States. These performances took place in London in 1930, on Broadway in 1943, and in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1959. All three of the productions, when considered together, provide an intriguing glimpse into Robeson's artistry as well as his political activism. The Politics of Paul Robeson's Othello maintains that Robeson's development into a politically minded artist explicates the broader issue of the role of the African American artist in times of crisis. Robeson (1898-1976) fervently believed that political engagement was an inherent component of the role of the artist in society, and his performances demonstrate this conviction. In the 1930 production, audiences and critics alike confronted the question: Should a Black actor play Othello in an otherwise all-white cast? In the 1943 production on Broadway, Robeson consciously used the role as a form for questioning theater segregation both onstage and in the seats. In 1959, after he had become well known for his leftist views and sympathies with Communism, his performance in a major Stratford-upon-Avon production called into question whether audiences could accept onstage an African American who held radical--and increasingly unpopular--political views. Swindall thoughtfully uses Robeson's Othello performances as a collective lens to analyze the actor and activist's political and intellectual development.
