Shakespeare, Objects and Phenomenology

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction: Shakespeare and Phenomenology

   • Susan Sachon

   Pages 1-39

3. Shakespeare and Cognitive Play

   • Susan Sachon

   Pages 41-64

4. Macbeth: Objects and Illusion

   • Susan Sachon

   Pages 65-102

5. King Lear: Illusion and Perspective

   • Susan Sachon

   Pages 103-149

6. Titus Andronicus and Henry V: Bodies, Objects and Text

   • Susan Sachon

   Pages 151-207

7. Conclusion

   • Susan Sachon

   Pages 209-234

8. Back Matter

   Pages 235-243

   PDF

This book explores ways in which Shakespeare’s writing strategies shape our embodied perception of objects – both real and imaginary – in four of his plays. Taking the reader on a series of perceptual journeys, it engages in an exciting dialogue between the disciplines of phenomenology, cognitive studies, historicist research and modern acting techniques, in order to probe our sentient and intuitive responses to Shakespeare’s language. What happens when we encounter objects on page and stage; and how we can imagine that impact in performance? What influences might have shaped the language that created them; and what do they reveal about our response to what we see and hear? By placing objects under the phenomenological lens, and scrutinising them as vital conduits between lived experience and language, this book illuminates Shakespeare’s writing as a rich source for investigation into the way we think, feel and communicate as embodied beings.

• Material studies
• Material culture
• Early modern drama
• Cognition
• Staging
• Audience
• Performance
• Theatre
• Shakespeare

“Blending historicist study of the plays together with the close-reading of performances and texts and insights from cognitive science and phenomenology, Sachon charts a path for ongoing dialogues between literary studies, performance-based work, and theorists of the mind. The objects of the play, in her handling, then are more than props. They are a passageway to an understanding of Shakespeare’s plays as complicated objects themselves, open to approaches that unite the experience of the mind reading the text and seeing the play.” (Will Rogers, Shakespeare Quarterly, November 21, 2022)

“Sachon’s book is an important contribution to cognitive Shakespeare studies. … Through its detailed textual analysis, and accessible style, this book helps readers understand the complex processes behind our experiences of objects in texts. It is of interest not only to scholars of Shakespeare and cognitive literary studies but also to anyone working at the intersection of philosophyand literature.” (Jun Feng, Cahiers Élisabéthains, Vol. 106 (1), 2021)

• Toddington, UK

  Susan Sachon

Susan Sachon is Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. She completed her PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, in 2013. She has directed over 40 productions locally, including Shakespeare plays, owned a successful part-time theatre school for young people for over 20 years, and runs Shakespeare workshops where she also coaches students for exams and auditions.  

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