Shakespeare’s Representation of Weather, Climate and Environment: The Early Modern ‘Fated Sky’

The first in-depth exploration of Shakespeare's representations of climate and the skyWhile ecocritical approaches to literary texts receive more and more attention, climate-related issues remain fairly neglected, particularly in the field of Shakespeare studies. This monograph explores the importance of weather and changing skies in early modern England while acknowledging the fact that traditional representations and religious beliefs still fashioned people's relations to meteorological phenomena. At the same time, a growing number of literati stood against determinism and defended free will, thereby insisting on the ability to act upon celestial forces. Sophie Chiari argues that Shakespeare reconciles the scholarly approaches of his time with popular views rooted in superstition and promotes a sensitive, pragmatic understanding of climatic events. Taking into account the influence of classical thought, each of the book's seven chapters addresses a different play where sky-related topics are crucial and considers the way climatic phenomena were presented on stage and how they came to shape the production and reception of Shakespeare's drama. Key Features Offers an all-encompassing approach on early modern climate in ShakespeareRedefines the notion of 'climate' as Shakespeare's contemporaries understood itSuggests new hermeneutic tracks to understand Shakespeare's major comedies and tragediesProbes environmental issues in Shakespeare's plays and, in doing so, echoes major concerns of the present time

Table of Contents:
Illustrations Acknowledgements Textual Note Introduction 1. ‘We see / The seasons alter’: Climate Change in A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2. ‘[T]he fire is grown too hot!’: Romeo and Juliet and the dog days 3. ‘Winter and rough weather’: Arden’s sterile climate 4. Othello: Shakespeare’s À bout de souffle 5. ‘The pelting of [a] pitiless storm’: Thunder and lightning in King Lear 6. Clime and Slime in Anthony and Cleopatra 7. The I/Eye of the Storm: Prospero’s Tempest Conclusion: ‘Under heaven’s eye’ Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Sophie Chiari is Professor of Early Modern English Literature at Université Clermont Auvergne, France, where she is also the Director of the ‘Maison des Sciences de l’Homme de Clermont-Ferrand’, a research institute encompassing the humanities and social sciences. A member of the IHRIM research team, she has edited or coedited various collections of essays including Performances at Court in the Age of Shakespeare (coedited with John Mucciolo, 2019) and The Experience of Disaster in Early Modern English Literature (2022). Her current research focuses on ecocritical issues in Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Her most recent works are Shakespeare’s Representation of Weather, Climate and Environment (2019) and Shakespeare and the Environment. A Dictionary (2022).

Review :
A brilliant and bold contribution to both Shakespeare studies and to the emerging field of eco-criticism. Eloquently written, this is a thorough literary analysis of the status of the elements and environment as symbols, metaphors and crucially, as material phenomena. In its profusion of material, this book is like the River Nile as imagined in Antony and Cleopatra: fecund and teeming with life. Chiari's work will be of value to scholars and students looking for a comprehensive account of the intersections of weather, climate, and environment in some of Shakespeare's most familiar texts.