This invaluable new study guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest plays contains a selection of the finest criticism through the centuries on Othello. Students will benefit from the abundant features included in this volume, such as an introduction by Harold Bloom, an accessible summary, analysis of key passages, a comprehensive list of characters, a biography of Shakespeare, and more.

It might be seen as racist, antifeminist, perhaps even militaristic, depending on one's ideology. For Shakespeare, there were likely no such scruples. He borrowed the plot from a 16th-century Italian poet, along with, possibly, a geographical history of Africa and a translation of the Roman historian Pliny. But out of those scholastic ingredients he fashioned one of the most entrancing, agonizing studies of jealousy in the whole of English literature....

Welcome to the 17th century stage, where Ned Kynaston's performace of Desdemona in Shakespeare's 'Othello' brings the house down nightly. Ned is the "most beautiful woman on the London stage". That is, until the King renounces the royal edict that only men can play women on stage. Enter Maria, Ned's seemingly loyal dresser, who becomes an instant star, leaving Ned to suppress his ardent feminine traits and make a man of himself.