Shakespeare's ‘Other’ Worlds: The Critical Trek

Abstract

Since the 1980s, Shakespearean criticism has been preoccupied with Shakespeare's representation of ‘other’– non-English or non-European – worlds. That preoccupation has not only revolutionized established understandings of early modern literature and culture; it has also catalyzed important changes in reading practices themselves. The following essay provides a comprehensive overview of these important developments, looking at the critical trajectories leading to and from a still evolving interest in the ‘other’. My purpose is two-fold: (1) to identify the scholarship and questions signal to the interrogation of Shakespeare's ‘other’ worlds; and (2) to address the impact of this line of inquiry on Shakespeare studies.