Seminar Response - “Cosmic Ecology: Rethinking the storm in King Lear” – Jennifer Hamilton

Jennifer Hamilton is a PhD student at the School of English, Media and Performing Arts at the University of New South Wales.


Jennifer Hamilton discussed the aspect of storms as being seen as strong narrative leads rather than the emotion-augmenting metaphors they are usually perceived as. She structured her seminar around her central text King Lear; the comparison between Lear and other relevant texts; and the constant question of the addressing of the storm in scholarly discourse.

Hamilton purported the theory of nature in Lear, which is represented by the storm, as holding a stronger significance within the narrative than traditionally discussed, because the storm is imperative to the cultural ecology of the drama. Citing Donna Harraway and Felix Guattari, she put forward the idea of a cosmic ecology; one which is understood as nature being integrated with the drama's culture. Hamilton framed part of her discussion around the misrepresentation of the storm in productions of King Lear. She argued that the metaphoric function of the storm is given importance in productions over the idea that the storm functions strongly as a communicative device in the play.

Hamilton's key comparative text in her research is Sarah Kane's Blasted, a re-imagining of the themes and forces in King Lear, and the publication of which she purported to be a formative moment in theatrical history. Hamilton described the blast as remaking the social ecology of the play. She likened the aspect of the blast to the aspect of the storm in Lear, arguing that the storm should be given the same level of importance in scholarly dissertations. She rgued that the storm echoes pivotal themes in Lear such as the need for shelter and the division of the kingdom; and like the blast in Blasted, offers a new perspective on reality and like Blasted's aspect of the rain, provides the drama with an environmental score.

Hamilton also made the comparison to Judith Butler's Antigone's Claim, which displays the storm as a strong motif signifying emotive actions. Hamilton argued that the storm in Antigone's Claim and the the blast in Blasted, show a synesthetic viewing of the world; and how the aspects of the storm and cosmic ecology being viewed as metastates in the dramas should not be ignored.
Hamilton concluded by restating the idea of the storm being more central to the evolution of the drama than previously observed. She argued that storm allowed for the characters' liberation – from themselves and from their own consciousness.



King Lear – William Shakespeare

Blasted - Sarah Kane

Antigone's Claim – Judith Butler