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21 results from Shakespeare and Beyond on

Birds of Shakespeare

In this series, artist Missy Dunaway takes us on a bird-watching expedition through Shakespeare’s works.
Birds of Shakespeare: The greylag goose
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The greylag goose

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Missy Dunaway

Artist Missy Dunaway concludes her Birds of Shakespeare series with the greylag goose, the subject of Romeo and Mercutio’s rapid-fire puns in Romeo and Juliet.

Birds of Shakespeare: The peregrine falcon
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The peregrine falcon

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Missy Dunaway

Falconry plays an important role in Shakespeare’s world, and Shakespeare peppers falconry terminology throughout his dialogue, Missy Dunaway explores.

Birds of Shakespeare: The carrion crow
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The carrion crow

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Missy Dunaway

Although Shakespeare favors the crow as a symbol of doom, it carries various meanings and appears in several forms.

Birds of Shakespeare: The snipe
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The snipe

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Missy Dunaway

In Othello Iago refers to Roderigo as a snipe to indicate that he only spends time with him in order to take advantage of him.

Birds of Shakespeare: The loon
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The loon

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Missy Dunaway

The loon appears just once in Shakespeare’s plays, in a line from Macbeth.

Birds of Shakespeare: The seagull
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The seagull

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Missy Dunaway

The word “gull” is used twelve times in Shakespeare’s plays, appearing the most in Twelfth Night, a play full of pranks and hijinks.

Birds of Shakespeare: The grey heron
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The grey heron

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Missy Dunaway

Hamlet uses the heron, or “handsaw,” to reference his power struggle with his uncle, Claudius.

Birds of Shakespeare: The magpie
a magpie in flight below a magpie perched on a branch surrounded by foliage
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The magpie

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Missy Dunaway

Artist Missy Dunaway explores the thieving magpie’s ominous appearances in Shakespeare’s plays.

Birds of Shakespeare: The partridge
five partridges
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The partridge

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Missy Dunaway

In 1536 Henry VIII forbade killing partridges to ensure populations could support falconry. Shakespeare refers to the partridge twice, both as examples of slaughtered prey.

Birds of Shakespeare: The European robin
Four European robins surrounded by eggs, feathers, honeybees, and the branches and fruit of the European crab apple
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The European robin

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Missy Dunaway

According to Renaissance folklore, robins were kind and adored humans so deeply that if one came upon a person who had passed away, it would place flowers on the body.

Birds of Shakespeare: The turtle dove
A turtle dove in flight with two other turtle doves sitting below on a branch
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The turtle dove

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Missy Dunaway

The turtle dove as a symbol of love appears in Shakespeare’s romances, tragedies, and comedies.

Birds of Shakespeare: The lark
A detail of the painting showing a lark, a toad, and a piece of red cloth
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The lark

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Missy Dunaway

Shakespeare mainly employs the lark as a beloved symbol for the morning, the herald of the dawn. Most of the lark’s 27 appearances in Shakespeare’s works feature it welcoming the start of each day with a sweet song.

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