Abstract
Amazon (2013):
Can reading, writing about, and teaching Shakespeare contribute to the health of the
planet? To what degree are Shakespeare's plays anthropocentric or ecocentric? What
is the connection between the literary and the real when it comes to ecological conduct?
This collection, the first devoted specifically to green Shakespeare, engages with
these pressing questions surrounding ecocritical Shakespeare, in order to provide
a better understanding of where and how ecocritical readings should be situated. The
volume combines multiple critical perspectives, juxtaposing historicism and presentism,
as well as considering ecofeminism and pedagogy; and addresses such topics as early
modern flora and fauna, and the neglected areas of early modern marine ecology and
oceanography. Concluding with an assessment of the challenges-and necessities-of teaching
Shakespeare ecocritically, "Ecocritical Shakespeare" not only broadens the implications
of ecocriticism in early modern studies, but represents an important contribution
to this growing field.
