A Short View Of Tragedy

A Short View Of Tragedy

Critical comments on Othello

Thomas Rymer wrote "A Short View of Tragedy" in 1693, nearly eighty years after Shakespeare's death. The author's work is less of a "short view" and much more of a hefty critique of all of English theater. Rymer argues that society should return to the Greek Drama instead of moving forward in Jacobean theater. In this, he calls Othello a "bloody farce" and warns wives about deceiving their husbands or else they could end up dead. This text serves to ask many questions about the validity of race and gender arguments in Othello, but also dismisses the plot that furbishes these. In the century after “A Short View Of Tragedy” was published, critics themselves disavowed the text, calling Rymer “the worst critic that ever lived.” (Thomas Babington Macaulay) However, this book acts as an important lens through which to understand anatomy in Othello – a negative one. Rymer’s constant use of the word blackamoor serves to further distance the narrative of Othello from that of Rymer. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “blackamoor” as “a dark skinned Ethiopian.” However, there is textual evidence from just thirty years before Rymer published “Short View” that equates “blackamoor” with “devil.” Understanding this, the Oxford English Dictionary defines “moor” (the term used in Othello) as someone from northwestern Africa or an African of Muslim faith. This definitive divergence in the two definitions speaks to a greater theme within the discussion of race in the text. Throughout, Rymer uses discussions of race and gender to invalidate narratives in Othello. This text speaks to anatomy in Othello by dissecting the authenticity of characters in the plot from the plot itself. He argues that the “definition” of each character, whether that refers to race or gender, can invalidate their story.

Thomas Rymer

[no text]

London

1693

Richard Baldwin

Used in permission from the Rose Library, Emory University.

[no text]

Folio

English

Critical view of Tragedy

[no text]

[no text]

[no text]

[no text]