Sibylle Baumbach, Shakespeare and the Art of Physiognomy

This book deals with the poetics of the human face, the art of physiognomy, and strategies of nonverbal communication in Shakespeare’s plays. It offers new insight into Shakespeare’s modes of characterisation, and his art of performance.

In Shakespeare’s plays, the human face is a focal point. As an area where expression and impression meet (and, ideally, correspond), its reliability and trustworthiness are frequently put to the test, sparking off a controversy which serves as a significant and highly challenging subtext to the overall plot.

Contents

1 Looking for Shakespeare's Face(s)
2 A Brief Overview of Physiognomic Thought and Theory
3 Shakespeare’s Physiognomic Characters
4 A Physiognomic Inventory
5 'Let me behold thy face' - Physiognomic Readings
6 The Physiognomist in Shakespeare's Plays
7 Conclusion

Sibylle Baumbach

Sibylle Baumbach is currently Postdoctoral Researcher and Research Coordinator at the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC) at the University of Giessen. She has received her PhD from Munich and taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara (USA), and the University of Warwick (UK). Her publications include ‘Let me behold thy face’ – Physiognomik und Gesichtslektüren in Shakespeares Tragödien, Heidelberg, 2007) as well as essays on Keats, Conrad, and mythopoetics.

Other Formats

A Library PDF edition is available from MyiLibrary.com

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