Browse Items (42 total)
Sort by:
Map from "Americae Pars Sexta"
Theodor de Bry’s “Americae Pars Sexta” is a fascinating collection of maps as well as histories detailing the various explorations of New Worlds. Among detailed accounts and descriptions of the discoveries, this text is littered with incredibly…
"Aethiopem lavare" from A choice of emblemes, and other devises : for the moste parte gathered out of sundrie writers, Englished and moralized, and divers newly devised
In this emblem book, different stories or concepts are used to represent apparently common sense ideas. The image depicted above represents one such story, called “Aethiopem lavare,” in which it describes the idea of something that is impossible by…
The Third and Last Volume of the Voyages, Navigations, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation by Robert Barker
In his account of England’s voyages to foreign territories, Robert Barker provides numerous descriptions of the native peoples that the Europeans came into contact with through their travels. Most, if not all, of the descriptions are unflattering…
Map of the North Atlantic from The principal nauigations voyages, traffiques and discoueries of the English nation...
Even though it is not directly related to the geographical setting of Othello, this map of North America, published around the turn of the 17th century, helps a reader of Othello gain some understanding of the geographical mindset of the British…
The Anatomy of Melancholy
Finally, not only are the characters in Othello confined by race and by fate, they are also held captive by the confines of human emotion. Every single character acts rashly and impulsively due to their emotions, and none more so than Othello. In The…
Image of Emperor Solyman - From Historie of the Turkes
The book The History of the Turks by Richard Knolles offers a unique perspective into documented history of 1603. One of the main arguments against Shakespearean original authorship is the lack of knowledge of these distant places, but histories such…
Batman vppon Bartholome : his booke De proprietatibus rerum, newly corrected, enlarged and amended : with such additions as are requisite, vnto euery seueral booke : taken foorth of the most approued authors, the like heretofore not translated in English : profitable for all estates, as well for the benefite of the mind as the bodie : 1582.
In this book by Anglicus Bartholomaeus, a sort of encyclopedia covering a wide variety of topics, he presents a particularly intriguing idea of race with regards to what causes differences in skin color. According to popular theories of the time,…
"Sylva Sylvarum" or "A Naturall Historie"
In 1635, “Sylva Sylvarum” or “A Naturall Historie” by Francis Bacon was published in London, nine years after his death. Widely considered a major player in the scientific arena during his life, Bacon uses this text as a collection of his thoughts…
Poster for screening of Liz White's film adaptation of Othello, with Yaphet Kotto
In Shakespeare’s day, the character of Othello would be played by a white man in black face. It’s important to think about this because it means that there was no part in this play in which a black man, or a moor, had any say in how their people were…