The Story of Shakespeare's Othello

Written by William Shakespeare

Narrated by Ghizela Rowe

Othello is principally a story of jealousy and its destructive power. Othello is a courageous general in Venice and unusually for Shakespeare, a Moor with a black complexion. Although aware that he is a jealous character and even though he truly loves the fair Desdemona, he is willing to be persuaded by his clever and envious ensign, Iago, that she is being unfaithful to him. It is a true tragedy which is clearly captured in this telling of the story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Copyright Group
• Release date: Jan 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780002361

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is the world's greatest ever playwright. Born in 1564, he split his time between Stratford-upon-Avon and London, where he worked as a playwright, poet and actor. In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two, leaving three children—Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. The rest is silence.

Reviews for The Story of Shakespeare's Othello

[therebelprince · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good everyman edition, although it still struggles with the issues that this play raises (not that I have the answers either!)

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not one of my favourite plays by this author but interesting enough. A daughter of a physician saves the life of a king, and is rewarded by being married to one of his lesser sons. the boy, not a loveable fellow, runs off to avoid commitment, but is reconciled to the woman by a questionable act, on her part. The Shakespearian audience seems to have liked this work betterthan odern audiences do.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not one of my favorites of the Bard. Perhaps our modern ways have ruined this one, but for the life of me, I don't see why Helena is so taken with Bertram. He's an arrogant ass. You can do better, Helena, shame on you. Now I have to watch some performances of it, to see if they enlighten or enhance.

[tobinelliott · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's taken me a few years to finally come back around to the rest of the Arkangel productions of Shakespeare's plays. Not sure why I suddenly stopped, I just did. But now I'm back.

This, to me, feels very much like one of Shakespeare's lesser plays. It's a relatively simple plot, one that I'm also sure many would have a massive problem with (I'm not exactly fond of it myself).

This one, to me, despite the usual fantastic efforts of Arkangel, was only okay.

[caseybp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of Shakespeare's "problem plays". It is contrived and a little confusing at times. I however loved the play. I think it is funny and clever despite it's problems.

[jhudsui_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This title of this comedy refers to the marriage that ensues as a result of its climactic rape so uh yeah this is another one that is up there with Taming Of The Shrew in failing to satisfy modern sensibilities.Also it just me or is Parolles not only fairly okay but even one of the most morally sound characters in this mess? His letter to Diana sounds like he's giving her decent honest advice.

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Witty, clever but difficult to understand the meaning of some discussion due to the use of obsolete or obscure wording. Mildly recommended for the historical value of a classical author.

[coach_of_alva · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An unsatisfying romantic comedy about a scorned and abandoned wife's efforts to reclaim her husband. To compare this to Shakespeare's romantic comedies is like comparing a Katherine Heigl romcom to one of the great 1930s screwball films.

[astrologerjenny · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bertram! You're such an idiot! It's a good thing your mother and your sweetheart are so wise and forbearing. By rights, you should be thrown to the dogs at the end of this play for acting like a total jackass, but since you're the hero, you get to be redeemed. And Helena still loves you, imagine that, even after you accidentally impregnated her while thinking you were sleeping with a French virgin!

[amerynth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found "All's Well that Ends Well" to be really uneven. Helena is in love with Bertram, who apparently hates her for no reason and treats her shabbily... apparently that's incredibly attractive. Of course, with the title the play has, you can guess it's all going to go swimmingly well for Helena even if she has to trick her way into it.Actually, Helena was a pretty interesting character as far as Shakespeare's women go. However, there seemed to be a lot of filler conversations (mostly by a clown in a bunch a dialog that perhaps just hasn't aged well.Overall, I just found this one kind of bland.

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Helena, a physician's daughter, falls in love with a nobleman, Bertram. She cures the king with the stipulation that he will give her Bertram as her husband. They marry, but Bertram can't stand her and leaves before they even spend one night together. He gives her a brush off and says she isn't his real wife until she bears him a child... but he won't sleep with her. He then tries to court another woman. Helena is a witty and resourceful woman and comes up with a way to trick him into impregnating her. All's Well That Ends Well... I guess. So Helena wins over her husband, who doesn't like her, by tricking him. In my opinion Helena's love and efforts are completely wasted on a selfish jerk. Even Bertram's mother thinks that Helena is a wonderful wife for her son. I wish Helena would have wised up and picked a different guy from the get-go. The play has Shakespeare classic puns and double entendres, but it's not one of my favorites of his.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although I agree with critics who ask why would the heroine bother to win this unpleasant young man, I do enjoy it overall