A Holistic Dramatic–Cognitive Theory of Understanding Shakespeare

The Holistic Dramatic-Cognitive Theory offers an integrative interpretive model that accounts for how meaning is generated in Shakespeare’s dramatic works through a system of interaction among textual structure, performative embodiment, historical context, and cognitive engagement. While dominant interpretive schools in Shakespeare studies—including formalism, historicism, performance criticism, psychoanalysis, and cognitive poetics—have illuminated different dimensions of Shakespeare’s dramaturgy, none has fully explained the unified mechanism through which meaning emerges. Drawing upon literary theory, theatre studies, classical poetics, and cognitive science, this theory demonstrates that Shakespeare’s works generate meaning through the dynamic interaction of structural, performative, contextual, and cognitive elements. Cognitive literary theory supports this model by showing that readers construct meaning through mental simulation, reasoning, and emotional engagement (Stockwell). Similarly, performance theory substantiates the claim that dramatic meaning is realized through embodiment rather than textual abstraction alone (McConachie). By conceptualizing interpretation as a systemic and recursive process, the theory explains the interpretive multiplicity, psychological realism, and cultural adaptability of Shakespeare’s works. It thus offers a theoretically coherent and scientifically grounded framework capable of advancing Shakespearean scholarship, pedagogy, and performance studies.