물질문화와 맥베스의 스툴

Abstract

The study of material culture has influenced a wide range of humanities disciplines, and has been the subject of inquiry by archaeologists and social anthropologists, while the study of objects has also been the focus of critical attention in history and literature. Many of these methods have been developed in relation to contemporary materiality, and work on objects from the past has also been shaped by this. In early modern England, objects were seen as marvels that were useful, thought-provoking, wondrous, entertaining, and generated meaning in their own modest ways. Even relatively inexpensive and simply made objects had ingenuity and a clear understanding of how objects performed emotions, so they were not just ideas about things, but meaningful ways of communicating in everyday life. Much of the work on early modern materiality has been done through Shakespeare’s plays, and this article therefore aims to outline the different ways in which recent criticism has related Shakespeare’s plays to early modern material culture, to explore how objects are mediated between the theatrical text and the wider culture through Shakespeare’s plays, and to suggest and explore future scholarly directions in this area through the study of material culture and the construction of identity, production and consumption as part of the early modern period. It argues that greater scholarly attention to forms of material culture, namely early modern objects and the processes associated with them, may offer fruitful new avenues for understanding the ways in which Shakespeare’s plays work with audiences.