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.
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.
In his plays Shakespeare deploys the cormorant as a symbol of insatiable hunger and gluttony, drawing also on the bird's reputation as a portent of doom and evil.
With the golden eagle, we continue following artist Missy Dunaway on a bird-watching expedition through Shakespeare’s works. The eagle soars throughout Shakespeare's world, Renaissance literature, and beyond - symbolizing strength, power, and the divine.
Thanks to its peculiar reproductive cycle, distant migration, and haunting melodies, the cuckoo may hold the title for most folklore among Shakespeare’s birds.
The barnacle goose, referenced in Shakespeare's "The Tempest," was an unmistakable symbol of metamorphosis for a 17th-century audience. It was commonly believed that the barnacle goose evolved from driftwood. Artist Missy Dunaway shares her painting of this fascinating bird along with an exploration of its literary associations.
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