Shakespeare in a Divided America

president's familiar initials-"J.Q.A."-and not simply because of the harsh views expressed here. Adams, a tireless writer, whose correspondence and daily journal entries totaled many thousands of pages, was widely admired as one of the most literate individuals of his day. But he was also a cautious politician, extremely reticent about expressing his opinions in print, especially controversial ones, so published surprisingly little in his long career, and absolutely nothing on interracial marriage.

 


Stranger still, he was doubling down on a companion piece he had just published (that had prompted the attack on the "criticism of 1835"). This too was on Shakespeare-"Misconceptions of Shakspeare Upon the Stage"-and had appeared earlier that month in the New England Magazine. While this first essay dealt with his views on King Lear and Juliet, it included a few choice words for Desdemona's interracial marriage that anticipated his subsequent and longer diatribe. As this earlier essay unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that it is Desdemona's physical intimacy with Othello that so discomforts Adams: "her fondling with Othello is disgusting." That essay similarly concludes that "the great moral lesson of the tragedy of Othello is, that black and white blood cannot be intermingled in marriage without a gross outrage upon the law of Nature; and that, in such violations, Nature will vindicate her laws." Insistent on being understood, Adams puts this even more bluntly. Any pity we might feel as we watch Othello kill Desdemona must give way to the grim satisfaction that she got what was coming: "when Othello smothers her in bed, the terror and the pity subside immediately into the sentiment that she has her deserts."

 


Why had a former president and now member of Congress felt it necessary to weigh in publicly not once, but twice, and so unflinchingly, on Desdemona's interracial marriage? It's the sort of claim that we might expect from a Southern slavehold

American history. Written with broad appeal and expert insight, this sparkling account deserves to be widely read. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In two landmark books, James Shapiro explored the depth of Shakespeare s engagement in the contested issues of his own time.  Now, in the brilliantly conceived Shakespeare in a Divided America, Shapiro deftly demonstrates the playwright s intimate presence in the culture and politics of the New World.  From the racist anxieties focused on Othello in the 1830s to the bitter left-right divide focused on Julius Caesar in our own time, Shakespeare s works have been uncannily central to our national imagination. This richly researched book is a continual revelation both about Shakespeare and about ourselves. Stephen Greenblatt, author of Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare

James Shapiro excels at bringing Shakespeare's works and worlds to life for our time. Now, in this fascinating book, he ingeniously explores how unending disagreements over the plays illuminate our national past as well as the present. Selecting powerful stories where history and literature meet, he spares his readers none of America's violent passions or Shakespeare's. Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University and author of The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln

With the lightest touch and the most formidable scholarship, James Shapiro, once again, proves himself to be an irresistible storyteller. And what an exhilarating and disturbing tale he has to tell. Here is proof that Shakespeare s power remains undiminished in our divided and unhappy world. Simon Russell Beale