William Shakespeare
Course on representation of the other in Shakespeare's plays Othello and The Merchant of Venice
General sources
Vejledning i lęsning af Shakespeare (sproglige problemer og anvendelse af annoterede udgivelser)
Elizabethan Theatre A lecture by Hilda Spear. Good introduction to the Elizabethan theatre. Interesting illustrations.
Shakespeare on the Net: One of the most extensive Shakespeare sites on the net daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/
Shakespeare Theatre Company Productions
Danish summaries - Translation exercise
William Shakespeare: Othello (1604) Act I scenes i, ii and iii, act III, scene iii, Act V scene ii
Race is a particularly critical factor in Othello, the story of the "dark Moor" who succumbs to sexual jealousy amidst a white society. Why does Iago mislead Othello so cruelly? And why does Othello believe Iago's lies, and ultimately commit the heinous act of killing his beloved wife? What does Shakespeare mean to say in this scenario? (PBS Essay on Race and Religion)
Laurence Fishburne as Othello and Kenneth Branagh as Iago in Oliver Parker's filmatization 1995
Shakespeare's Moor: The Sources and Representations
PBS Othello Essay on Race and Religion
The History and Description of Africa by Leo Africanus. This text provides a contemporary description of Africans which is interesting to compare with Shakespeare's portrayal of the Moor, Othello. The book was translated into English around 1600, it was widely distributed and Shakespeare might very well have read it.
William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice (1595) Act I scene iii, Act III scene i Act IV scene i
Bronstein: Though he appears in only five out of twenty scenes in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock has attracted the major share of interest in the drama's long history on the stage and in critical literature. One's first association with The Merchant of Venice is invariably Shylock. "Shylock" has become a term of disapproval, a link in the history of anti-Jewish stereotype, just as Shylock's "pound of flesh" has become a metaphor for cruel and relentless greed.
Al Pacino as Shylock in the filmatization from 2005
Jimi Rogers, "Shylock and History"
Herbert Bronstein: Shakespeare's Plea for Human Values
Interesting course description on how to teach The Merchant of Venice
Shylock
