Abstract
The gesture of exchanging hands was fundamentally one of friendship and allegiance in the early modern era, as it is today. However, this gesture can also be performed deceptively or ironically. This chapter focuses on William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, where the handclasp’s status as a gesture of friendship and loyalty is subverted. The chapter draws on cognitive theories about the touch and about kinesis, and on early modern texts that deal with handshakes, to provide one explanation why this gesture has long been associated with creating honest relationships between two people. The chapter argues that the dishonest or mocking handshakes in Titus Andronicus, which are performed with severed hands, are particularly shocking when understood against this backdrop.
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