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ABSTRACT
Thanks to the recent advent of ecocriticism in the field of Shakespeare studies, we are becoming increasingly aware that the representation of climate in early modern drama intersects with discourses on crops and food as well as on race and humours. Yet, as climate resists being represented, few critics think of considering its role per se. What did it really bring to early modern audiences? Keeping in mind the Greek etymology of " climate", klineio or "slope" (latitude), is quite useful to account for a number of references linked to the humoral physiology that prevailed at the end of the sixteenth century. Unsurprisingly, Shakespeare is concerned with the ways in which the local weather durably affects the nature of men as well as with the way their humours are temporarily modified, through the skin, by climate and environment. I argue that this concern actually prompts him to reverse the traditional points of view in order to show that things also work the other way round. Indeed, in some of his plays, the playwright insists on men's unfortunate capacities to provoke violent climatic (and climactic) disorders and to generate chaos on earth. As an example of the interactions between men and weather in Shakespeare's drama, I will explore climate as climax in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear. Indeed, in these three works, action is framed by, grounded in, and focused on severe climatic conditions.
Climate historians have shown that, "[throughout Europe, the years from 1560 to 1600 were cooler and stormier, with later wine harvests and considerably stronger winds than those of the twentieth century".1 By "climate", I mean weather patterns and fluctuations of long duration; the early modern period seems a case in point as, undeniably, the environment then became a privileged topic of scientific debate. Interestingly, in his plays, Shakespeare gives us a clear indication and representation of the impact of such harsh weather on early modern society. So, his many references to climate allow us to understand the playwright's engagement with both natural and supernatural phenomena. But there's more to it. Thanks to the recent advent of ecocriticism in Shakespeare studies, we are becoming increasingly aware that the representation of climate in early modern drama intersects...