ALLIGATOR
30th April 2024
QUOTATION
I do remember an apothecary,
and hereabouts he dwells which late I noticed
In tattered weeds with overwhelming brows,
Culling of simples. Meagre were his looks.
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.
And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,
An alligator stuffed, and other skins
of ill-shaped fishes.
ROMEO: Romeo & Juliet, Act 5, Scene 1
ALLIGATOR (American Alligator: Alligator mississippiensis)
The sole reference to Alligators in Shakespeare’s works is in the down at heel apothecary shop in Mantua. There is some debate when the word ‘Alligator’ in its various spellings was first used in English, but there is a reference to killing ‘Aligartas’ in Walter Biggs 1589 description of the voyage of Sir Walter Raleigh to the West Indies.
There are 2 living species of Alligator in the world today. The American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) which is increasing in numbers and the critically endangered Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis).
More Information
Folger Shakespeare: Search Shakespeare’s Works
IUCN Red List: American Alligator, Chinese Alligator
University of Michigan, Early English Books Online: Walter Biggs 1589 A Summarie and True Discourse of Sir Frances Drakes West Indian Voyage.