Shakespeare and Memory

Abstract

AbstractWhether it is treated as a practical concern, a cultural pattern, or a literary theme, memory in Shakespeare’s plays has produced a vast array of scholarship in the past 15 years. This article addresses the cultural background of memory studies in the arts of memory, the link between the memory arts, book culture, and theater; the place of memory in material culture; the Renaissance conception of the physical effects of memory and forgetting in the body and the ways in which memory and forgetfulness produce subjectivity; the failure of memory, especially in psychoanalysis, trauma theory, and postcolonial studies; and the practical use of memory in the Renaissance theater. Finally, the article considers the potential for further scholarship in cognitive studies, performance theory, cultural studies, and intellectual history and the study of playwrights other than Shakespeare.