In this collaborative work, photographer Rosamond Purcell and Shakespeare scholar Michael Witmore explore the transcendent emotion in Shakespeare's work through photographs, pairing the allusive power of images with the subversive effects of Shakespeare's language. The book takes advantage of oblique connections to reveal things that cannot be represented directly on stage.

Purcell has pioneered the technique of capturing reflections in antique mercury glass apothecary jars, resulting in haunting images that seem to move with the liquid quickness of ideas. These images are an attempt to capture Shakespeare's expansive imagination in action-what Coleridge called his "myriad-mindedness": they take a visceral journey into the world of his plays. Witmore has paired each photograph with a short passage from Shakespeare's plays with an uncanny sense of the playwright's intent.

About the Author
Rosamond Purcell is the author of Bookworm and Owls Head. She lives in Medford, Massachusetts. Michael Witmore is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.


Book Information
ISBN 9780393339482
Author Rosamond Purcell
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 595g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 246mm * 15mm