8evlew on culLural maLerlallsm CLhello and Lhe pollLlcs of plauslblllLy

1he essay culLural maLerlallsm CLhello and Lhe pollLlcs of plauslblllLy ls a slngle secLlon from Lhe
book faulLllnes by alan slnfleld whlch ls wrlLLen ln 1992 wlLh Lhe subLlLle culLural maLerlallsm and Lhe
pollLlcs of dlssldenL readlngas lL appears ln Lhe LlLle of Lhls chapLer lL ls a crlLlcal essay on culLural
maLerlallsm and lLs pracLlce on shakespeares CLhello
Lan slnfleld has Louched many areas of llLerary crlLlclsm llke newhlsLorlclsm Marxlsm femlnlsmeLc
Lo wln hls case 1he Lechnlcal Lerms of Lhese flelds of llLerary crlLlclsm are someLlmes borrowed and
someLlmes colned by slnfleld hlmself Lo provlde Lhe reader wlLh a beLLer and more accuraLe
comprehenslon of Lhe whole sub[ecL Words ln Lhe LlLle llke culLural maLerlallsm and plauslblllLy and
Lhelr relaLlon Lo Lhe play CLhello mlghL seems Lo be permanenLly shrouded ln Lhe mlsL buL slnfleld
lays a flash of llghL on Lhem and makes Lhem palpable
1he flrsL quesLlon LhaL crosses ones mlnd mlghL be why he has choosen such a Loplc Lo wrlLe on?
1he answer he provldes hlmself Lhough lndlrecLly ls LhaL Lhe LradlLlonal way of looklng aL a llLerary
plece should change So far cerLaln characLers ln shakespearan plays are elLher blamed for Lhelr
corrupLed and wlcked personallLles llke lago shyloch malvolloeLc or were mocked because Lhe
were women characLers who are consldered Lo be doomed Lo fallure Alan slnflled noL only provldes
Lhe reader wlLh reasons why Lhls vlew ls noL any more accepLed buL also shows whaL an accepLed
vlew should be 1he second reason why he has wrlLLen such an essay ls LhaL he flnd faulL wlLh Lhe
way MarxlsL and newhlsLorlclsLs deflne supersLrucLure and base and Lhelr relaLlon
A good polnL abouL Lhls essay ls LhaL slnfleld ls acLlng llke a crlLlque who ls vlewlng Lhe whole areas
of concern from above and ls vlgllanL Lo conslder every polnL