Rematerializing Shakespeare

This collection redefines what it means to rematerialize Shakespeare, moving beyond traditional Marxist or cultural materialist frameworks to explore how authority and representation were constructed on the early modern stage. The essays, penned by some of the most respected scholars in the field, deliberately avoid a unified theoretical stance, instead offering a multifaceted examination of performance, text, and cultural power. This approach provides a sophisticated critique of materialist theory itself, challenging readers to reconsider the very foundations of Shakespearean criticism.

What makes this volume distinctive is its intellectual courage in refusing to present a single, coherent argument, instead embracing a productive tension between competing critical perspectives. Serious students of Shakespeare and literary theory will find this collection particularly rewarding, as it demands active engagement with complex ideas about theatrical representation and textual authority. The book’s ultimate impact lies in its power to destabilize settled assumptions, rematerializing our understanding of Shakespearean drama not as a fixed object, but as a dynamic site of critical inquiry.