"Presence in Absence; Beneath Shakespeare's Poetic Surface" reveals 'things nobody knows' about Shakespeare's plays. S.W.Stout does this by quoting from the works of some of the most controversial philosophers of the Renaissance period and reveals how their understanding of the world found a place in Shakespeare's verse. This book consists of seven essays with each essay revealing something you never knew before about one of Shakespeare's plays. Because of the author's use of primary documents it is a useful resource to college and university students. But his informal style also makes the work a source of intelligent entertainment for any interested reader.