LAPWING

4th March 2024

Photo Credit: Kneonlight (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

Our talk must only be of Benedick.

When I do name him, let it be thy part

To praise him more than ever man did merit.

My talk to thee must be how Benedick

Is sick in love with Beatrice. Of this matter

Is little Cupid’s crafty arrow made,

That only wounds by hearsay. Now begin,

For look where Beatrice like a lapwing runs,

Close by the ground, to hear our conference.

HERO: Much Ado About Nothing, Act 3, Scene 1

LAPWING (Vanellus vanellus)

Shakespeare uses the image of the Lapwing in several plays and usually as a metaphor of foolishness or animated behaviour. They seem to be taken directly from observed nature rather than inherited metaphors from the Bible or the Classics.

Lapwings are named in the Geneva Bible in the lists of unclean foods Deuteronomy and Leviticus, although there is debate as to whether the translation is correct and refers to the bird which we know as ‘Lapwing’. Lapwings were a common bird in Shakespeare’s world and both the bird and their eggs were valued food sources.

Lapwings are ground nesting birds and have undergone a 59% decline in numbers since 1967 due in part to loss of suitable nesting habitats and increased predation. Lapwings are assessed as Vulnerable in the UK and also in Europe.

More Information

British Trust for Ornithology (BTO): Lapwing

Folger Shakespeare Library: Search Shakespeare’s Works

Geneva Bible (1599 edition): accessed via Bible Gateway

IUCN Red List: Lapwing

RSPB: Lapwing