Shakespeare's storms

Every one of Shakespeare's plays contains at least one storm, from the cataclysm that shakes King Lear to the faint rumble of thunder in Hamlet, and from the wrecked ships of the comedies to the bolt of lightning in Pericles. This study examines that whole range. It begins with the stage effects that early modern playhouses used to produce storms and shows how those effects shaped the language Shakespeare gave his characters.

Jones devotes chapters to Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Pericles and The Tempest, following how the storm grows more extreme in the playwright's later career. Attention falls on how Shakespeare handles sound, light, and the relationship between actors and audience, and on how storms can both entertain and prompt reflection on the act of representing something on stage. Between the play readings are chapters on thunder, lightning, wind and rain, which consider Shakespeare's grasp of weather and the subtlety of his storm imagery.

The book reads theatre history alongside current literary and environmental theory. It is aimed at advanced undergraduates and specialists in Shakespeare, ecocriticism and early modern drama.