Shakespeare and Ecofeminist Theory

Ecofeminism has been an important field of theory in philosophy and environmental studies for decades. It takes as its primary concern the way the relationship between the human and nonhuman is both material and cultural, but it also investigates how this relationship is inherently entangled with questions of gender equity and social justice.

Shakespeare and Ecofeminist Theory engagingly establishes a history of ecofeminist scholarship relevant to early modern studies, and provides a clear overview of this rich field of philosophical enquiry. Through fresh, detailed readings of Shakespeare's poetry and drama, this volume is a wholly original study articulating the ways in which we can better understand the world of Shakespeare's plays, and the relationships between men, women, animals, and plants that we see in them.

“Ecocriticism is rising quickly as an enduring new interdisciplinary area of research in the academy at large, one that refashions earlier connections between literature and science into a much broader attempt to rethink the limits of the human and the epistemological and ontological claims made on the grounds of “nature” in the first place … Shakespeare and Ecofeminist Theory … is a must-read introduction to this powerful new paradigm as it pertains to Shakespeare. The book leads its readers through the compelling host of new problems that are currently seeding criticism, from the relationship between the human and the nonhuman and new materialism to collaboration, gender and sexuality, knowledge practices, the body, and the household.” - SEL: Studies in English Literature: 1500-1900

“Analysis of the natural world (mice, worms, plants, etc.) and feminist issues (domesticity, gender, the blazon, body shaming) demonstrate the necessity of an ecofeminist approach in Shakespeare. They also successfully situate ecofeminism as a historically essential and traditionally ignored body of scholarship, arguing that scholars who write on race, class, and gender have failed to cite ecofeminist theory despite its decades-long examination of these concepts … Ultimately, the authors’ text offers hope for a reconciliation between what they regard as unequal representations within these unities and alliances, giving ecofeminism equal status in theoretical scholarship and lifting it from its subjugated state.” - Renaissance Quarterly