Storms in Shakespeare

Many of Shakespeares' plays have storms in them, probably the most famous being The Tempest, hence the name. Tere are also storms in Julius Caesar, Macbeth, The Twelfthh Nigh and King Lear. I think that Shakespeare purposefully uses these storms to create an affect on the audience.

Almost everybody has experienced some sort of storm in their lives, be it a small summer storm or the horrors of storms like Hurricane Katrina. Everybody has witnessed some sort of storm so they know the power that they hold, trees coming down, walls collapsing they are one of the fiercest natural events on earth. The common garden storm may not be as destructive as say a tsunami or a volcano eruption but they have a sense of chaos and the feeling of nature being out of control which is very singular to storms. it is like seeing nature throw a hissy fit or a temper tantrum which. this feeling of being out of control is what i think Shakespeare likes to use them for.

Focusing on King Lear, the storm in the play appears at the scene where Lear is at his most uncontrolled. he is on the heath, raging at the gods and his daughters. Shakespeare uses the wild of the storm to, it think, emphasise and show two things. First he uses it to echo Lear's own madness, the uncontrolled raging of the storm matches his behaviour. it also links in to his later actions, when he is wearing his crown of weeds and flowers, he is connected with nature now not the people, his rage and natures rage are the same. The second thing that i think Shakespeare uses the storm for is to emphasise the roles of the gods in the play. The play is set in a time before Christianity and is Pagan. The Pagans believed in Gods of nature and these gods are referenced by many in the play, some with scepticism like Edmund and some with reverence like Gloucester and Lear. During Lear's speech on the heath he mentions the gods and how they have wronged him, the storm around him could be Shakespeare's way of the gods answering back. Lear and the gods having an argument.

Storms in Shakespeare can also be seen as a sort of cleansing for the character, after the storm Lear starts to realise the truth about his actions as king, realising he has been mistreating the poor and realises he was wronged by his daughters.

Overall the storms can represent the mood of a character or the wildness of scene. they create an aura of madness which is essential for the atmosphere of the plays and i think that Shakespeare uses them to great affect in his plays.