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“Othello’s tragedy is precisely that Iago should know him better than the...
Othello Act One, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ——————————————— First off – a few interesting points (or at least hopefully so): 1. What prompted Shakespeare to write Othello? One intriguing possibility...
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“So will I turn her virtue into pitch,/And out of her goodness make the...
Othello Act Two, Part One By Dennis Abrams ——————— Act Two: Though battered by storms, the Venetians, led by Othello, arrive safely in Cyprus to the news that the Turkish threat has been eliminated....
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“Desdemona and Othello, alas, scarcely know each other, and sexually do not...
Othello Act Two, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————————— To continue on where we left off in my last post with Bloom: “Iago derides Othello’s ‘weak function’; that seems more a hint of Iago’s impotence...
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“Lie with her? Lie on her?”
Othello Act Four, Part One By Dennis Abrams ———————- Act Four: Iago continues to fuel Othello’s growing jealousy, to the point where he collapses in a fit. When he recovers, Iago “arranges” for him...
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“The world’s history is just that of spiders and flies.”
Othello Act Four, Part Two By Dennis Abrams For today’s post, we’re going to be looking at Othello from two very different angles – contemporary and old school. First, from Polish avant-garde...
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“Then must you speak/Of one that loved not wisely but too well/Of one not...
Othello Act Five, Part One By Dennis Abrams Act Five: At Iago’s bidding, Roderigo attacks Cassio but only managed to wound him, and in the confusion that follows Iago stabs Roderigo to death....
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“All of them die: the noble ones and the villains; the level-headed ones and...
Othello Act Five, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ——————– Let’s start by finishing up with Jan Kott: “They talk about her even before she has appeared. They shout that she has run away with a Negro. Her...
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If Timon is timeless, it is because it is always timely. The brilliance of...
Timon of Athens An Introduction By Dennis Abrams ——- It’s a story as old as money itself: the fable of the big-spending man who uses, then loses all of his wealth – and with it, his wits and...
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“His promises fly so beyond his state/That what he speaks is all in debt, he...
Timon of Athens Act One By Dennis Abrams —————- MAJOR CHARACTERS Lord Timon of Athens Lords and Senators of Athens Timon’s false friends: Lucius, Lucullus, Sempronius and Ventidus Alcibiades, an...
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“No care, no stop; no senseless of expense/That he will neither know how to...
Timon of Athens Act Two By Dennis Abrams ———————– Act Two: Timon’s creditors are getting restless and send their servants to request that he pay off his debts. Flavius is attempting to stall them...
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“Uncover, dogs, and lap.”
Timon of Athens Act Three By Dennis Abrams ———————— Act Three: One by one, Timon’s so-called “friends” refuse to help him, all making the feeblest of excuses. As the servants of Timon’s creditors...
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“There’s nothing level in our cursed natures,/But direct villany. Therefore,...
Timon of Athens Act Four By Dennis Abrams ——————————– Act Four: Although his servants remain loyal to him, Timon is now driven insane with anger; he curses the city and its residents, and leaves to...
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“…Timon of Athens is a puzzle. Is it a tragedy? It is the strangest of...
Timon of Athens Act Five By Dennis Abrams ————————– Act Five: The Poet and the Painter head out to the forest in hope of payment, but Timon drives them away. By this time Alcibiades is threatening...
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” The triumph of ‘Macbeth’ is the construction of a world, and nothing like...
Macbeth An Introduction By Dennis Abrams ——————————– It’s Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy. And his darkest. But more than 400 years after it was written, it still retains its ability to shock. “The...
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“When shall we three meet again?/In thunder, lightning, or in rain?/When the...
Macbeth Act One, Part One By Dennis Abrams ————— MAIN CHARACTERS King Duncan of Scotland Malcolm, Duncan’s elder son Donalbain, Duncan’s younger son A Captain in Duncan’s army Macbeth, Thane of Glamis...
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“I would, while it was smiling in my face,/Have plucked my nipple from its...
Macbeth Act One, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————— It would be fascinating to know what James I – or any of his contemporaries for that matter – made of the other strong female character in the play...
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“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/Clean from my hand?”
Macbeth Act Two, Part One By Dennis Abrams ———————————– Act Two: As Macbeth moves towards Duncan’s chamber, his resolve falters as he comes across Banquo and then is troubled by strange...
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“Is this a dagger which I see before me,/The handle toward my hand?”
Macbeth Act Two, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————– I hope you’re all enjoying Macbeth as much as I am. Having read as much Shakespeare as I’ve done (and as you’ve done) over the last year and a...
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“I am in blood/Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more,/Returning were...
Macbeth Act Three By Dennis Abrams —————————- Act Three: Although Banquo has doubts about his friend Macbeth’s role in recent events, he agrees to celebrate the coronation at a banquet. But Macbeth...
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“It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood.”
Macbeth Act Three, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ——————————- I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying this reading of Macbeth: Bloom is right, in its directness and speed, with not a single unnecessary...
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