Introduction: ‘Leave Not a Rack Behind’

Summary

The Introduction establishes the key theoretical approaches underpinning the book. C. S. Peirce’s taxonomy for signs as index, icon, or symbol offers a useful framework which I use as a helpful way to distinguish between different functions of Shakespearean photographs, and resist in arguing that all photographs operate across Peirce’s categories. The book’s reliance on Walter Benjamin’s work is also explained, particularly as it relates to the concept of ‘aura’, which I suggest has been used problematically in performance studies. The Introduction also explains my choice of case studies, and outlines the major scholars whose work the present book builds on, most notably the late Barbara Hodgdon.