Introduction: Shakespeare and the power of the face / James A. Knapp -- Powerful faces. "Thy face is mine": faces and fascination in Shakespeare's plays / Sibylle Baumbach; Fashioning the face: embodiment and desire in early modern poetry / Farah Karim-Cooper; Facing marital cruelty in Shakespeare's The taming of the shrew and early modern London / Loreen Giese -- Signifying faces. The two faces of Othello / Sean Lawrence; Facing King Lear / David Goldstein; Complex complexions: the facial signification of the black other in lust's dominion / Vanessa Corredera -- Staged faces. "I knew by his face there was something in him": buried stage directions and authorial control / Catherine Loomis -- The play of looks: audience and the force of the early modern face / Penelope Woods; "The counterfeit presentment of two brothers": the power of portraits in Hamlet on film / Yolana Wassersug -- "This painting wherein you see me smeared": Francis Bacon, Coriolanus, and the brutality of facialization / Hillary Nunn and Aaron Hubbard -- Afterword / Michael Neill.
Summary:
"As contributors to this volume prove, Shakespeare's language of the self relies on descriptions of and reactions to facial expressions and features. An analysis of Shakespeare's treatment of faces has implications for our understanding of the context in which he wrote, and for the ongoing interpretation and production of the plays. By bringing together historians, theorists of performance and critics interested in material culture and philosophies of self, this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of attitudes towards embodiment in Shakespeare's England"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.