This work investigates how the physical movements and gestures of characters in literature function as a form of non-verbal communication that triggers cognitive responses in the reader. Guillemette Bolens, a scholar specializing in medieval literature and cognitive poetics, utilizes the framework of embodied cognition to analyze how authors encode meaning through descriptions of bodily action. By bridging the gap between literary analysis and the science of movement, the text argues that kinesics—the study of body language—is a critical component of narrative construction and reader engagement.

Scholars in the field of cognitive poetics recognize this text as a significant contribution to the study of embodied cognition in literature. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for an audience familiar with literary theory and cognitive science methodologies.