Bruce R. Smith 
Phenomenal Shakespeare 

In Phenomenal Shakespeare, leading Shakespeare scholar Bruce
R. Smith presents an original account for the ways in which
Shakespeare’s poems and plays continue to resonate with
audiences, readers and scholars because of their engagement with
the whole body, not just the reading mind.

* An original examination of Shakespeare’s appeal written
by leading Shakespeare scholar Bruce R. Smith

* Contains insightful examinations of a single Shakespeare
sonnet, Venus and Adonis, and King Lear to model the
possibilities of historical phenomenology as a better strategy for
critical reading than approaches based on language alone

* Pushes beyond traditional treatments of Shakespeare

* An ideal handbook of contemporary approaches to Shakespeare and
a celebration of Shakespeare’s staying power on stage, on film, and
on the page

Table of Content

Acknowledgments ix

Prologue: The Argument xi

1 As It Likes You 1

2 How Should One Read a Shakespeare Sonnet? 38

3 Carnal Knowledge 82

4 Touching Moments 132

Epilogue: What Shakespeare Proves 177

Works Cited 187

Picture Credits 197

Index 199

About the author

Bruce R. Smith is Dean’s Professor of English and Professor of Theatre at the University of Southern California. He has published widely on Shakespeare with recent works including The Key of Green: Passion and Perception in Renaissance Culture (2009), Shakespeare and Masculinity (2000), and The Acoustic World of Early Modern England (1999). A former president of the Shakespeare Association of America, Smith has been a keynote speaker at meetings of Shakespeare and Renaissance organizations in Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Portugal, and the UK. He has also been featured in programs aired on BBC Radio 3, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Public Radio International, and TV 4 London.