Reviews on "Names as Metaphors in Shakespeare’s Comedies"

Congratulations to Grant W. Smith, the author of the book Names as Metaphors in Shakespeare’s Comedies that just received three reviews from:

1. Adina Chirilă,  West University of Timișoara. 'Onoma' (Journal of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences), 57 (2022), pp. 321–325
2. Dorothy Dodge Robbins, Louisiana Tech University. 'Names, Vol. 70, Nº 2, June 2022, pp. 54-56.
3. Luisa Caiazzo (Potenza, Italy). RION (Rivista Italiana di Onomastica), XXVIII (2022), 2.

Grant W. Smith’s Names and Metaphors in Shakespeare’s Comedies brings service to semiotics, literary studies, literary onomastics, as a humanistic field, and to the study of onomastics in national literatures, by force of example. It also indelibly marks the traductological aspects concerning Shakespeare’s works, and mediates and gives a sturdy foundation to various (theatrical, intimate) experiences that the public may have with the comedies of William Shakespeare.

[Extract from book review appearing at 'Onoma' (Journal of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences), 57 (2022), pp. 321–325. Reviewer: Adina Chirilă,  West University of Timișoara, Romania]


Through a wide semiotic lens, Smith identifies onomastic patterns and practices both within these fourteen individual plays and across the Bard’s comedic oeuvre. Further, Smith narrows his focus to examine the associative and lexical properties of individual names in a scrupulous fashion, play by play. His extensive, organized, and informative study will benefit Shakespearean scholars and will, no doubt, be of interest to more general names enthusiasts. Because each play receives its own chapter in “Names as Metaphors in Shakespeare’s Comedies,” readers have several options as they maneuver through Smith’s study.

[Extract from book review appearing at 'Names, Vol. 70, Nº 2, June 2022, pp. 54-56. Reviewer: Dorothy Dodge Robbins, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Lousiana]

Infine, la cura che trasuda dai particolari più piccoli è indicativa della ricercatezza con cui Smith dipinge il variegato mondo onomastico delle commedie di Shakespeare espiega la reputazione che si è guadagnato nel firmamento internazionale dell’onomastica letteraria. Tuttavia, il pregio di questo volume sta nel fatto che, oltre ad offrire una ricerca ampia e articolata dei nomi come metafore nelle commedie di Shakespeare, propone una cornice teorica e modelli analitici che possono essere applicati in generale nel campo dell’onomastica letteraria offrendo un contributo vivace al dibattito sul potenziale ‘significato’ dei nomi.

[Extract from book review (ITALIAN) appearing at the journal RION (Rivista Italiana di Onomastica), XXVIII (2022), 2. Reviewer: Luisa Caiazzo (Potenza, Italy)]

The book is available to order here: Names as Metaphors in Shakespeare’s Comedies

Title Names as Metaphors in Shakespeare’s Comedies [Paperback]
Edition 1st
ISBN 978-1-64889-364-3
Published in February 2022