Shakespeare's 'Othello'

To the Shakespearean reader, 'Othello' is a literary treatise on the Other . However, a different reading reveals a neglected dynamic; of how and why the presence of the blackamoor, speaks about the English. The self-made English identity is thus reshaped, where historico-political reading on the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, challenges this stability. This book puts forth the connection of the Battle of Lepanto to Iago's envy in shaping the seventeenth-century English identity where early forms of ethnocentrism teeters on the edges when we realise that Shakespeare might not even portray a picture of the Other in Othello , but of the regression of the English in the double dealings of Iago. It provides new insights on the relevancy of contemporary European internal politics and how the Papacy influence Christian countries to the play. A Muslim reading on this play will shed light on the significance of combining historical knowledge on both the Islamic world and those in the Christian realms. This book is the beginning of a new train of thought. Get on it!

Autorentext

The writer has an interest in identity issues, especiallythose in the early modern period. She believes that it is the simple past that shapes our present complexity, thus requiring both attention and further excavation in understanding the Self. She is currently writing her thesis for a PhD in the University of Putra, Malaysia (UPM).

Klappentext

To the Shakespearean reader, 'Othello' is a literary treatise on the Other . However, a different reading reveals a neglected dynamic; of how and why the presence of the blackamoor, speaks about the English. The self-made English identity is thus reshaped, where historico-political reading on the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, challenges this stability. This book puts forth the connection of the Battle of Lepanto to Iago's envy in shaping the seventeenth-century English identity where early forms of ethnocentrism teeters on the edges when we realise that Shakespeare might not even portray a picture of the Other in Othellö, but of the regression of the English in the double dealings of Iago. It provides new insights on the relevancy of contemporary European internal politics and how the Papacy influence Christian countries to the play. A Muslim reading on this play will shed light on the significance of combining historical knowledge on both the Islamic world and those in the Christian realms. This book is the beginning of a new train of thought. Get on it!