Othello and the Problem of Knowledge Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book analyses the epistemological problems Shakespeare explores in Othello. Shakespeare presupposes a Wittgensteinian model of mind as revealed in behaviour, and communication as necessarily successful in general. Gaskin examines different epistemological models of the tragedy, and argues it is useful to apply materials from Wittgenstein’s On Certainty to the analysis of Othello’s loss of confidence in Desdemona’s fidelity: Othello treats Desdemona’s fidelity as a hinge certainty, something...