Annotated bibliography: william shakespeare''s othello

Bloom, Harold, ed. William Shakespeare”s Othello. New York: Chelsea House, (1987); 77, underlines Emilia’s and Desdemona’s lack of competitiveness, jealousy, and class consciousness facilitates their growing intimacy. He sharply contrasts the genuine intimacy of the women with the hypocritical friendship of the men, while underlining the women’s isolation and powerlessness.
Farley-Hills, D. Shakespeare and the Rival Playwrights, 1600-06. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, (1990); 101-112, expresses his ideas as to the ” contrast between the sensitive Desdemona . . . and the coarser-grained but well-meaning Emilia, chattering about women’s rights” (p. 108).
Garner, S. N. Shakespeare’s Desdemona. London: Methuen, (1976): 233-52, in some way summarizes the critical debate between those who see Desdemona as saint and those who see her as slut. The lines are central to Garner’s argument that Desdemona as well as Emilia is represented in the play as fully human. Nevertheless the speculation about what both women ” must feel” springs from what Garner himself feels – that the marriage is a doomed misalliance which ” must fail” (p. 250), an assumption colored with racist feeling, thus we may call his ideas into question basing our arguments on the ground of other critics ideas.
Hassel, R. Chris. ” Intercession, Detraction and Just Judgment in Othello.” Comparative Drama 35. 1 (2001): 43, emphasize contrast of the romance between Othello and Desdemona and that between Iago and Emilia – one so passionate; the other so calculating. Her attempts to get across the locations, the period, and the weather will help us to elaborate upon a subject properly.
Jardine, L. Still Harping on Daughters. Sussex: Harvester-Wheatsheaf, (1983); 78, claims that Shakespeare represents Desdemona as culpable, based on the ” patriarchal assumption” that she is driven by sensuality in marrying a black man.
Loomba, A. Gender, Race, Renaissance Drama. Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press, (1989): 157, goes further comparing to other critics in stressing Othello’s vulnerability, and totally ignores Emilia’s role in the play. She treats the play in isolation from Shakespeare’s other three plays on this theme. Thus it is not rationally to use her ideas in our research.
Neely, C. T. Broken Nuptials in Shakespeare’s Plays. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, (1985): 105-108, sums up the controversy of women’s death in Shakespeare’s Plays and goes on to turn the spotlight on Emilia and her relationship with Desdemona. It is he who ascribes Desdemona’s death to herself. ” The women, in contrast, are indifferent to reputation and partially free of vanity, jealousy, and competitiveness”. This point of view is interesting for our research especially if comparing it with Vanita’s argument.
Newstok, Scott L. ” Touch of Shakespeare: Welles Unmoors Othello.” Shakespeare Bulletin 23. 1 (2005): 29, sees the ” mixture of violence and eroticism” in the last scene as giving rise to the discomfort of critics and directors which led to its toning down in production so that the murder appeared a sacrifice (p. 39).
Singh, S. The Double Standard in Shakespeare and Related Essays. Delhi: Konark Publishers, (1988): 28-31, contends that the play forcefully combats racism. ” It is notable that given the same situation, Shakespeare’s men, whether black or white, respond in the same way” (p. 29). This article will help us to argue false, to our mind ideas of some critics.
Vanita, R. “” Proper” Men and ” Fallen” Women: The Unprotectedness of Wives in ‘Othello.’.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 34. 2 (1994): 341, dwells on a question of the murder of a wife with the only reason of her infidelity. She states that Desdemona’s and Emilia’s deaths, it is not merely for the formal reason that Othello is a ” tragedy” and has to end in death. Her critical commentary on the responsibility for Desdemona’s and Emilia’s death is noticeably differs from that of other critics who ascribe it either to Othello and Iago or to Desdemona and Emilia themselves. This article is also of great interest because Emilia’s death is getting here a new angle on as it has not in works of many critics, until very recently, received comparable attention, and it is agreed that Iago is solely responsible for her death. Vanita’s argument is that Desdemona and Emilia had the same tragedies and died similar deaths for similar reasons.