Shakespeare's Storms

Winner of the 2016 Shakespeare's Globe Book Award The first comprehensive study of Shakespeares storms. Whether the apocalyptic storm of King Lear or the fleeting thunder imagery of Hamlet, or the thunderbolt of Pericles, there is an instance of storm in every one of Shakespeares plays. This book explains the storm effects used in early modern playhouses, and how they filter into Shakespeares dramatic language. With chapters on Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Pericles and The Tempest, Jones traces the development of the storm over the second half of the playwrights career, when Shakespeare took the storm to new extremes. Interspersed are chapters on thunder, lightning, wind and rain, in which Jones reveals Shakespeares meteorological understanding and offers nuanced readings of his imagery. Throughout, Shakespeares Storms brings theatre history to bear on modern theories of literature and the environment. -- .