Experiencing and re-experiencing the monument to William Shakespeare

With a focus on translations and reproductions, this article explores the visual reception and aesthetic experiences of William Kent’s and Peter Scheemakers’ 1740 monument to William Shakespeare in Westminster Abbey. Part of a wider cycle of reproductions, these were essential for establishing the fame and reputation of the abbey and the sculpture displayed there, though this has been little recognized in previous scholarship. These reproductions ranged widely, and this article encompasses large-scale reproductions adorning buildings across England, as well as a range of smaller-scale plaster and ceramic figurines, prints and cameo jewellery. By uniting varied media and modes of reproduction across forms traditionally associated with high and low culture, this article gives a fuller account of the impact of the abbey monument on wider visual culture than has previously been offered, and gives new significance to the design of the original monument as being conceived for engagement and future reproductions.