MARIA JONES is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Wolverhampton, specializing in Shakespeare in performance on stage and screen, and early modern cultural history.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction: Performing Shakespeare's Culture PART I: WORD Producing Consent in The Taming of the Shrew Defining the Alien in The Merchant of Venice PART II: PROP Ophelia's Flowers Richard's Crown Conclusion: Prop and Word Notes Filmography Theatre Company Credits Index