The Hand on the Shakespearean Stage: Gesture, Touch and the Spectacle of Dismemberment

by Farah Karim-Cooper

This ground-breaking new book uncovers the way Shakespeare draws upon the available literature and visual representations of the hand to inform his drama.

Providing an analysis of gesture, touch, skill and dismemberment in a range of Shakespeare's works, it shows how the hand was perceived in Shakespeare's time as an indicator of human agency, emotion, social and personal identity. It demonstrates how the hand and its activities are described and embedded in Shakespeare's texts and about its role on the Shakespearean as part of the actor's body, in the language as metaphor, and as a morbid stage-prop. Understanding the cultural signifiers that lie behind the early modern understanding of the hand and gesture, opens up new and sometimes disturbing ways of reading and seeing Shakespeare's plays.

Genres: Nonfiction, Shakespeare, History

328 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2016

Reviews

[Katheryn Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Farah Karim-Cooper has picked a great subject, and this remarkably accessible book shows just how much there is to say on the topic. However, as is often the case with books which break new ground, there is still a lot left to say, and I would have liked more depth of analysis. While The Hand on the Shakespearean Stage offers lots of great insights, there is a fair amount of generalising, and plenty of moments where I wanted to hear more. So the perfect book to start thinking about this subject, but three stars rather than four.

[M.L. Rio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, thorough, and delightfully cutting-edge (pun intended).

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contribution to the wider sensory discourse of the early modern period was invaluably informative and, truthfully, will act as a sort of Bible for my dissertation. Considering that this book was the first thing I read in preparation, it was a brilliant introduction into not only the scale and depth of gesture when considered alongside broader contexts of developing medical, cultural and philosophical theories, but also as a first insight into how to coherently structure a long piece of academic work.

I only wish that the examples used all went into more investigative detail. I loved the section on Venus and Adonis and found it to be one of the more elaborate, illuminating explorations, but it would have been fantastic to see the same afforded to some of the other works included. Nonetheless, I am truly grateful for this book and will likely consult it none stop !

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it, completely recommend for anyone even vaguely interested in shakespeare and stagecraft.

[David Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

karim-cooper should be applauded for so expertly balancing scholarship and accessibility in this cultural, historical, literary manual on a fresh way of understanding the bard.