Shakespeare and material culture
By: Catherine Richardson
Series: Oxford Shakespeare Topics; Oxford Shakespeare topics
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 221
ISBN-13: 9780199562282; 9780199562275
Subjects: Methodology; Criticism and interpretation; Dramatic production
Description: What is the significance of Shylock's ring in "The Merchant of Venice"? How does Shakespeare create Gertrude's closet in "Hamlet"? How and why does Ariel prepare a banquet in "The Tempest"? In order to answer these and other questions, "Shakespeare and material culture" explores performance from the perspective of the material conditions of staging. In a period just starting to be touched by the allure of consumer culture, in which objects were central to the way gender and social status were experienced but also the subject of a palpable moral outrage, this book argues that material culture has a particularly complex and resonant role to play in Shakespeare's employment of his audience's imagination.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [197]-216) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: early modern material culture; title: Personal possessions; title: Dressing and cross-dressing; title: Household, rooms and the spaces within; title: Banquet and celebration; title: Words and things.