Phenomenal Shakespeare

In Phenomenal Shakespeare, leading Shakespeare scholar Bruce R. Smith presents an original account for the ways in which Shakespeare’s poems and plays continue to resonate with audiences, readers and scholars because of their engagement with the whole body, not just the reading mind.  An original examination of Shakespeare’s appeal written by leading Shakespeare scholar Bruce R. Smith Contains insightful examinations of a single Shakespeare sonnet, Venus and Adonis, and King Lear to model the possibilities of historical phenomenology as a better strategy for critical reading than approaches based on language alone Pushes beyond traditional treatments of Shakespeare An ideal handbook of contemporary approaches to Shakespeare and a celebration of Shakespeare's staying power on stage, on film, and on the page

Acknowledgments ix Prologue: The Argument xi 1 As It Likes You 1 2 How Should One Read a Shakespeare Sonnet? 38 3 Carnal Knowledge 82 4 Touching Moments 132 Epilogue: What Shakespeare Proves 177 Works Cited 187 Picture Credits 197 Index 199