Description

One of the aims of my study is to thicken the texture of critical engagement with early modern material culture. A close attention to textiles is a point of entry into the mentalité and distinctiveness of early modern literature. Such material is often found in commentary, but only rarely considered in a sustained way or integrated into larger discussions.

A further aim of ‘Textile Shakespeare’ is more conceptual. My recent teaching at the Victoria and Albert Museum has revealed differences in approaches to material culture between literary critics and social and art historians. There are tensions between preservation, display, reconstruction and re-enactment in museum culture which have suggestive parallels in Shakespearean criticism and performance.

I will combine close reading with attention to performance and historical context, and explore the slippage between the linguistic and the material upon which Shakespeare often plays.

About Hester Lees-Jeffries

To access the Readings for the Work in Progress seminar, please contact Michelle Maciejewska.