EN 437: Shakespeare

This edition of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream allows a variety of approaches to Shakespeare, including historical, feminist, and cultural studies. Shakespeare's text is accompanied by an intriguing collection of thematically arranged historical and cultural documents and illustrations, including excerpts from such sources as letters, conduct books, legal documents, and literary works that illuminate the themes of the play.

Introduction : an overview of Othello -- Othello : a man of parts? -- Othello : 'speak of me as I am' -- Iago : character -- Iago : sign : from psychology to psychoanalysis -- Iago : sign : from Psyche to Clio -- Desdemona : character and sign : 'this most goodly book' -- The importance of the minor characters -- Conclusion : through the characters to the key themes and issues.

This book is a concise philosophical meditation on Iago and the nature of evil, through the exploration of the enduring puzzle found in Shakespeare's Othello.