Othello

by Harold Bloom, Neil Heims

The exciting new series that began in Fall 2004 with Macbeth , A Midsummer Night's Dream , and Henry IV continues...

"Negative charisma is an odd endowment; Iago represents it uniquely in Shakespeare, and most literary incarnations of it since owe much to Iago." - Harold Bloom

Each edition in the Harold Bloom Shakespeare series will include the full text of the play, with editorial revisions and commentary by Harold Bloom.

Genres: Plays

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Jennifer Weiland · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting enough read, once you get the hang of Shakespearean verbage and way of speaking, which can take a bit to get used to if you aren't well versed in his writing style and Middle English. The story itself is interesting, without getting into too much detail it is quite the tale of betrayal and sneakery, though personally not something I would normally pick up and read. I read this for English class in University, and otherwise would have probably not read it unless I felt compelled to do so. Not that it isn't good, but as I said, usually not the type of thing I read.

[Emelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of my favorite shakespeare plays, tied with hamlet and macbeth i think.

[Justin Wayne Abel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it an exaggeration to wonder what would’ve happened to Shakespeare were it not that Harold Bloom had been with us until recently? No. People have begun to lose their minds, and we are thus losing Shakespeare inasmuch as one’s mind can ever hope to contain him. Bloom labeled the current literary era “The Age of Chaos,” and the label is presently proven beyond just our reading of great books. Bloom explains, with a deftness so gently humane yet trenchant, how Shakespeare’s aesthetic visions are a fundamental influence on who were are as humans. Bloom’s commentary is essential in these strange days because Shakespeare remains a cornerstone despite ourselves. His critical vision of Othello captures the humanness, the tragedy, and the heroism of Othello and Desdemona as it captures the uncanny, the diabolical, and the chaos of Iago. His explanation of The Bard’s tragedy of Venice is aesthetic and true. Bloom’s commentary helps us understand an Othello for us today because the art is unmoved and unmovable by the crazy spirit of our age.