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

Download the transcript
Patricia Akhimie
Director of the Folger Institute at the Folger Shakespeare Library

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

Essay

The resources of sovereignty on Caliban’s island

Close reading opportunities to engage students in discussions of sovereignty and self-determination in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Scott Manning Stevens
Essay

Racialized skin in Shakespeare

The necessity of excavating and exposing the forms of whiteness that both drive the cliché of race and offer students opportunities for more sharply defined social critique and self-interrogation.

Ian Smith
Activity

Student approaches to adaptations of Shakespeare

In this assignment, Ruben Espinosa asks students to write and record short videos using Shakespeare to highlight and interrogate contemporary social justice issues.

Ruben Espinosa