Shakespeare and Birds of Britain

Abstract

There’s no place where birds cannot fly in heaven and earth. So we want to fly like birds or have dreams to transgress the bounds of human beings. And the song of the bird becomes the song of hope. The same song of a bird may sound sad or happy because birds can vary their song by taking in air from two directions rather than one. Shakespeare made use of his observation of these birds in his literature combining his knowledge with everyday life of his contemporary England. Shakespeare’s birds are enlivening the woods and fields and they make themselves one link in the food chain. This circle of food seems to run like a wheel of violence while Nature keeps this scheme peacefully. In this respect Shakespeare shows the world of birds as an epitome of human life. So Shakespeare’s drama is based on the material world of everyday life where men and birds coexist. Shakespeare describes nature from his own observation with kindly spirit, which makes his metaphors of birds appropriate. Modern technology manufactures the material world into a virtual fantasy. This tendency toward virtualization makes men prisoners in the cage of science. In a sense we are leading as wretched a life as a caged bird. Now we seem to be unable to communicate with each other. When the caged bird flies high to the sky, the voice of the bird will be a universal song uniting us in harmony.