Essay 3

Description

Essay III:
Othello Today:
Verisimilitude & Legend

Query: In his 1623 introduction to the First Folio of Shakespeare’s work, fellow 17th-century playwright and poet Ben Johnson declared the work of William Shakespeare to be “not of an age, but for all time.” Almost one hundred and fifty years later, British writer and philosopher Samuel Johnson said that Shakespeare’s enduring literary presence was because “his characters…are the genuine progeny of common humanity, such as the world will always supply and observation will always supply.” More than two centuries later, British actor Judy Dench noted the work of William Shakespeare had some singular quality that enables us to “recognize people being superstitious, greedy, envious, and falling in and out of love.” More specific to this assignment, after playing the role of the titular character, Othello, American actor Lawrence Fishburne declared that the role represented “one of the great characters in the English language.”

Supposing that within a particular context those statements, statements made over a span of four-hundred years regarding the literary works of William Shakespeare have a certain sense of veracity, how could Othello be an important work of literary art in our time?

Requirements: Your answer must include direct references and direct citations from at minimum of two and a maximum of three outside sources: these may include, but not be limited to, literary works, film, theatre, song-lyrics, media materials such as, interviews, tweets, blogs, etc.

Your answer must also include a minimum of three citations from Othello that work to directly support the supposition of your thesis (your answer to the above question).

Your work should adhere to all MLA citation and reference protocols, including proper in-text citation and works cited guidelines. If you are unsure of how to properly cite the texts you are working with, please use the following link for reference: Purdue OWL

Formatting:

Title: Your essay must have a title;
Font: Times New Roman;
Spacing: Double;
Margins: One inch on all sides;
File Type: MS Word or PDF.