Introduction: Part I

About the lecture

In this module, we provide a broad introduction to the play, focusing in particular on: (i) the period in Shakespeare’s career in which ‘Othello was written, and the other plays written around the same time; (ii) the differences between the original version of the Othello story in Cinthio’s ‘Hecatommithi’ (1565) and Shakespeare’s play (1603); (iii) the Neoplatonic concept of the Harmony of the Spheres and its relation to the nature of Shakespearean tragedy (and comedy); and (iv) a reading of the play as a tragedy of false comedy.

About the lecturer

John McRae is Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and Teaching Associate in the School of English at Nottingham University, and holds Visiting Professorships in China, Malaysia, Spain and the USA. He is co-author of The Routledge History of Literature in English with Ron Carter, and also wrote The Language of Poetry, Literature with a Small 'l' and the first critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others.