Shakespeare and the Environment : A Dictionary

While our physical surroundings fashion our identities, we, in turn, fashion the natural elements in which or with which we live. This complex interaction between the human and the non-human already resonated in Shakespeare’s plays and poems. As details of the early modern supra- and infra-celestial landscape feature in his works, this dictionary brings to the fore Shakespeare’s responsiveness to and acute perception of his ’environment’ and it covers the most significant uses of words related to this concept. In doing so, it also examines the epistemological changes that were taking place at the turn of the 17th century in a society which increasingly tried to master nature and its elements. For this reason, the intersections between the natural and the supernatural receive special emphasis. All in all, this dictionary offers a wide variety of resources that takes stock of the ’green criticism’ that recently emerged in Shakespeare studies and provides a clear and complete overview of the idea, imagery and language of environment in the canon.

Si notre environnement physique façonne nos identités, nous façonnons à notre tour les éléments naturels dans lesquels ou avec lesquels nous vivons. Cette interaction complexe entre l’humain et le non-humain résonnait déjà dans les pièces et les poèmes de Shakespeare. Comme les détails du paysage supra- et infra-céleste des débuts de l’ère moderne apparaissent dans ses œuvres, ce dictionnaire met en évidence la réactivité et la perception aiguë de Shakespeare à l’égard de son « environnement » et couvre les utilisations les plus significatives des mots liés à ce concept.