Akhimie, Patricia. "Editorial influence in Othello." Throughlines. www.throughlines.org/suite-content/editorial-influence-in-othello. [Date accessed].
Editorial influence in Othello
Teaching students how to detect and interpret the editor’s role across different editions of Shakespeare
There is no such thing as a neutral edition of Shakespeare. Each edition is interpreted, selected, and published within the context of the editor’s priorities, expectations, and audience. Teaching students the subjectivity with which Shakespeare editions are created helps them see beyond the plays themselves, and into the larger context of Shakespeare studies. Using Othello as a key example of the role of editors, Patrica Akhimie demonstrates how editorial decisions can transform how a play is interpreted.
Further learning
Recommended
Henry V and belonging
Shakespeare's language and status in the Western canon can feel inhospitable to many students, especially students of color. Teaching Henry V with a focus on linguistic identity, legitimacy, and belonging can open conversations that allow students to carve out a Shakespeare for themselves.
Othello and Barbary's blues
Justin P. Shaw is interested in how appropriation can mean theft as well as “making something new.” Using a framework of Black music and the history of appropriation of the Blues to shed light on Desdemona’s memory of Barbary’s song in Shakespeare's Othello, Shaw asks the question: where is the line between tribute and theft?
