Shakespeare's Books: Reading Dumb Eloquence and Speaking Breasts

Abstract

This paper is about the book in Shakespeare's plays; the book as an object, wherein the article may disclose narratives, corroborate stories, expose versions of reality and perspectives of presence; and the semiotic of the book, wherein the language of the book, of holding, touching, turning leaves, opening pages, reading, revealing and closing may simulate an idea of the body or mind in motion. This article is about how the metaphorical and material book appears on Shakespeare's stage, and how the physical and figurative presence of the book challenge the imaginative and representational conditions of Elizabethan theatre.