Othello has been portrayed on stage and screen by some of the leading African-American actors of the past century, including Paul Robeson, Lawrence Fishburne, and James Earl Jones (the last of which I myself was privileged to witness.) Othello has in the age of racial integration become a symbol for two lovers turning their backs on the prejudices of society, and the intransigence of racists like Iago who will not permit them to be happy. You will hear me harp on this point at length, but I do not agree with this interpretation. It’s very clear from the text that Iago’s motivation was his jealousy at being passed over for promotion, not any racial prejudice on his part. Othello’s ethnicity and physical appearance played a role, but it was not the key factor of his life. He was noble, eloquent, perhaps too hot-blooded for his own good, but an excellent general who would have made a fine husband to Desdemona were it not for the evil machinations of Iago.

(In addition to my other objection, which you will hear me gas on about: Othello was NOT BLACK.)

Join us for The Tragedy of Othello on 5/12 on ZOOM. We will begin by watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a reply below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of this site and click on the file marked “Othello”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

There has been friction between husbands and wives for as long as there has been marriage, and there have been plays about marital strife as long as there have been plays. Our present play, one of Shakespeare’s relatively early comedies, is probably the greatest example of this theme of the long-suffering husband attempting to deal with an insufferable wife.

That’s The Taming of The Shrew on 2/17 on ZOOM. We will begin by watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a reply below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of this site and click on the file marked “Taming of The Shrew”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

I know what you’re thinking. “King who?” King John is not the first name that comes to mind when you mention Shakespeare’s histories, and you might even draw a blank when it comes to the historical record.

Well, let me just tease you a little. According to legend, King John was the cruel monarch who prompted the adventures of Robin Hood! (To be fair, there is no evidence that the stories associated with Robin Hood were based on real events, during John‘s reign or any other time.) We do know that John was the younger brother and successor of King Richard the Lion-Hearted, and that he was so unpopular, his nobles organized at a field called Runnymede, and forced him to sign the Magna Carta. I know you’ve heard of that!

We finish The Life and Death of King John, on ZOOM, from 7pm on December 2nd. We meet at 7pm to watch scenes from the play on video, then start reading ourselves from 7:30pm.

Go to the Files page of this site for more information about the play. Hover on, then click on King John.

Come see literature’s most famous fat slob, Falstaff, abused by The Merry Wives of Windsor on Monday Oct. 7th on ZOOM. 

We will begin by watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a reply below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of this site

shakespearetokyo.news.blog/the-merry-wives-of-windsor/

and click on the file marked “Merry Wives”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

In 1594 William Shakespeare, who had begun to establish himself as a dramatist, suddenly took a hiatus from playwriting to publish The Rape of Lucrece. This gamble at writing narrative poetry paid off for young Shakespeare; the pamphlets were a publishing sensation, going through several printings and making him a household name among the intelligentsia of London.

On July 22nd we will read The Rape of Lucrece for ourselves on ZOOM. We will begin the reading about 7:30pm, Japan time. Leave a reply below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of https://shakespearetokyo.news.blog/lucrece-1594/

and click on the file marked “Lucrece”.

For our spring reading, we will re-examine what is probably the greatest paradox in all of Shakespeare: is it the history of two Trojan figures Homer never even mentioned? The tragedy in which both lovers are (gasp!) still alive as the curtain falls? Or the romance between two title characters who have barely four scenes together?

Normally you would never expect an English teacher to promote the use of a cheatsheet, but I have posted on the Files page of this site an in-depth study guide for our next reading, Troilus and Cressida. On Monday, June 10th, we will finish reading this most opaque of Shakespeare’s works, and quite frankly you will have to do your homework on this one. In addition to the usual Elizabethan vocabulary pitfalls, this one is also replete with references to classical Greek and Roman mythology, and pretty much assumes that the reader knows the legends of Troy by heart.

(I AM familiar with all those things, and I’ve read the play before, but I still had trouble understanding it well enough to write the summary!)

Even if you have never made use of these summaries before, Troilus and Cressida is especially challenging, and I urge you to study it for the next reading, June 10th on Zoom.

We watch scenes from a professional production of the play on video starting at 7pm, then begin reading about 7:30pm, Japan time. Leave a reply below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

But first, go to the Files Page of this site, and click on the file marked “Troilus and Cressida”.

You can’t pass the test if you don’t study!

We left Romeo and Juliet on a real cliffhanger last week. Come see if they live happily ever after (Hint: don’t get your hopes up) when we read the final act of Romeo and Juliet on April 8. You can have a ringside (well, Zoom-side) seat by replying to this message and asking for an invitation. We meet at 7pm to watch scenes from the play on video, then start reading ourselves from 7:30pm.

Go to the Files page of this site for more information about the play. Hover on, then click on Romeo and Juliet.

That’s Romeo and Juliet on April 8, on ZOOM.

It’s the tale as old as Love itself: Boy Meets Girl, Boy Loses Girl, etc.

Except Times Four!

We are completing Love’s Labours Lost on ZOOM, starting 7pm on February 5th. Witness the flirtation of Berowne and his buddies by replying to this message and asking for an invitation. We meet at 7pm to watch scenes from the play on video, then start reading ourselves from 7:30pm.

Go to the Files page of this site for more information about the play. Hover on, then click on Love’s Labours Lost.

Last time, Brutus and Cassius killed Julius Caesar. Now what?

Civil war! We are completing The Tragedy of Julius Caesar on ZOOM, starting 7pm on December 4th. You can be a witness to history by replying to this message and asking for an invitation. We meet at 7pm to watch scenes from the play on video, then start reading ourselves from 7:30pm.

Go to the Files Page for more information about the play. Hover on, then click on Julius Caesar.

Join us when we finish reading Julius Caesar, December 4th, on Zoom.

What could be funnier than identical twins being mistaken for each other?

How about TWO sets of twins?

Watch Antipholus of Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Ephesus in the original (well, not really, since our Bard recycled the plot from Plautus) case of mistaken identity, as we finish The Comedy of Errors on ZOOM, 7pm on October 9th.

You can join in the confusion by replying to this message and asking for an invitation. We meet at 7pm to watch scenes from the play on video, then start reading ourselves from 7:30pm.

Go to the the Files tab for more information about the play. Hover on, then click on Comedy of Errors.

Be a part of the fun when we read The Comedy of Errors, October 9th, on Zoom.