Seona Anderson 30/09/2024 Seona Anderson 30/09/2024

MASTIFF

Mastiff: Avaunt you curs!... Tooth that poisons if it bite, mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim. Mastiff was an important dog breed in Shakepeare's England.

Seona Anderson 29/09/2024 Seona Anderson 29/09/2024

MULE

MULE: they must be dieted like mules and have their provender tied to their mouths. Mules are the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.

Seona Anderson 29/09/2024 Seona Anderson 29/09/2024

PANTHER

The Panther in Eurasia is the black form of the Leopard. Panthers were known of from ancient authors and was important in heraldry.

Seona Anderson 28/09/2024 Seona Anderson 28/09/2024

PORPOISE

There is one mention of the Porpoise in Shakespeare's works.

Seona Anderson 31/05/2024 Seona Anderson 31/05/2024

LION

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, LION: I thought thy heart had been wounded with the claws of a lion. Lions appear in over a hundred Shakespearean references as a symbol of strength and nobility.

Seona Anderson 19/05/2024 Seona Anderson 19/05/2024

GREYHOUND

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, GREYHOUND: How goes your fallow greyhound sir? I heard said she was outrun on Cotsall.

Seona Anderson 19/05/2024 Seona Anderson 19/05/2024

LEOPARD

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, LEOPARD: RICHARD: Give me his gage. Lions makes leopards tame. MOWBRAY: Yea, but not change his spots.

Seona Anderson 11/05/2024 Seona Anderson 11/05/2024

MOUSE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, MOUSE: I never killed a mouse, nor hurt a fly. Shakespeare uses mice as terms of endearment, insults and a well known species linked to human communities.

Seona Anderson 08/05/2024 Seona Anderson 08/05/2024

ASS

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day: for, like the ass whose back with ingots bow, thou bear’st thou heavy riches but a journey. Asses or Donkeys feature regularly often an a insult but also metaphorically.

Seona Anderson 12/04/2024 Seona Anderson 12/04/2024

RAT

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, RAT: What if my house be troubled with a rat, and I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats to have it baned? The Black Rat was the species familiar to Shakespearean households.

Seona Anderson 06/04/2024 Seona Anderson 06/04/2024

Hyrcanian Beast

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, Hyrcanian Beast: The rugged Pyrrhus, like th’ Hyrcanian beast. There Tigers were the symbol of merciless killers for Shakespeare, however humans hunted the Caspian Tiger to extinction in the 1970s.

Seona Anderson 14/03/2024 Seona Anderson 14/03/2024

HARE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, HARE: O, the blood more stirs to rouse a lion than to start a hare! Hares acted Shakespeare’s metaphor for cowardice and stupidity. Mountain hares have been classified as Near Threatened.

Seona Anderson 05/03/2024 Seona Anderson 05/03/2024

OTTER

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, OTTER: What beast? Why, an otter… She’s neither fish nor flesh. Otters declined drastically in the 1950s & 60s but numbers are slowly increasing.

Seona Anderson 22/02/2024 Seona Anderson 22/02/2024

OUNCE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, OUNCE: Love and languish for his sake. Be it ounce, or pard, or bear. The Ounce is now associated with the Snow Leopard which is Vulnerable globally.

Seona Anderson 21/02/2024 Seona Anderson 21/02/2024

RABBIT/CONY

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, RABBIT/CONY: There is no remedy. I must cony-catch, I must shift. Rabbits were introduced either by the Romans or the Normans but are now naturalised in the UK.

Seona Anderson 16/02/2024 Seona Anderson 16/02/2024

ELEPHANT

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day: ELEPHANT: The elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy: his legs are legs for necessity not for flexure. The Elephant, the largest land mammal is the world has always had great cultural significance but all species are endangered.

Seona Anderson 15/02/2024 Seona Anderson 15/02/2024

SQUIRREL

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day: SQUIRREL: I have a venturous fairy that shall the squirrel’s hoard and fetch thee new nuts. Red Squirrels have suffered dramatic declines and are now endangered in the UK.

Seona Anderson 09/02/2024 Seona Anderson 09/02/2024

MOLE

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, MOLE: the blind mole casts copped hills towards heaven, to the tell the Earth is thronged with oppression.

Seona Anderson 08/02/2024 Seona Anderson 08/02/2024

PORPENTINE (Porcupine)

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, PORPENTINE (Porcupine): and each particular hair to stand an end, like quills on the fearful porpentine. Porcupines species are found in Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean and the Americas. Their spikes are used in defense.

Seona Anderson 07/02/2024 Seona Anderson 07/02/2024

FERRET

Shakespeare Species Quote of the Day, FERRET: Cicero looks with such ferret and such fiery eyes as we have seen him in the Capitol. The Ferret is the domestic relative of the Polecat and has a long history with human societies.