Shakespeare, Objects and Phenomenology

Susan Sachon is Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. She completed her PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, in 2013. She has directed over 40 productions locally, including Shakespeare plays, owned a successful part-time theatre school for young people for over 20 years, and runs Shakespeare workshops where she also coaches students for exams and auditions.  

1. Introduction: Shakespeare and Phenomenology.- 2. Shakespeare and Cognitive Play.- 3. Macbeth: Objects and Illusion.- 4. King Lear: Illusion and Perspective.- 5. Titus Andronicus and Henry V.- 6. Conclusion.

"Blending historicist study of the plays together with the close-reading of performances and texts and insights from cognitive science and phenomenology, Sachon charts a path for ongoing dialogues between literary studies, performance-based work, and theorists of the mind. The objects of the play, in her handling, then are more than props. They are a passageway to an understanding of Shakespeare's plays as complicated objects themselves, open to approaches that unite the experience of the mind reading the text and seeing the play." (Will Rogers, Shakespeare Quarterly, November 21, 2022)
"Sachon's book is an important contribution to cognitive Shakespeare studies. ... Through its detailed textual analysis, and accessible style, this book helps readers understand the complex processes behind our experiences of objects in texts. It is of interest not only to scholars of Shakespeare and cognitive literary studies but also to anyone working at the intersection of philosophyand literature." (Jun Feng, Cahiers Élisabéthains, Vol. 106 (1), 2021)