Untimely matter in the time of Shakespeare

Reading matter : George Herbert and the East-West palimpsests of The temple

Performing history : East-West palimpsests in William Shakespeare's second Henriad

The writing on the wall : London's old Jewry and John Stow's urban palimpsest

The smell of gunpowder : Macbeth and the palimpsests of olfaction

Touching matters : Margaret Cavendish's and Hélène Cixous's palimpsested bodies

Crumpled handkerchiefs : William Shakespeare's and Michel Serres's palimpsested time.