Introduction

Shakespeare’s animals dwelt in the wilderness of literary criticism for centuries, banished to the wilds of obscurity by the apparent triviality of such study. Historicist approaches to Shakespeare and animal studies have their roots in early work such as Keith Thomas’s Man and the Natural World, which raised questions about the historical, political, and cultural significance of animals. The animal turn in humanities scholarship has made new methods available for investigating Shakespeare’s animals: readers may now reasonably investigate not merely animals’ metaphoric or symbolic function, but their material existence, even at times their own possible capacities, perspectives, and agencies. Shakespeare’s beastly metaphors are linked to current ecological crises because they have been the fodder for violent shifts of power, exploitation, and industrialization, even if they might also provide the tools of change. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.