HARE

14th March 2024

Photo Credit: Andyworks (Getty Images Signature), CANVA

QUOTATION

If he fall in good night, or sink or swim!

Send danger from the east unto the west,

So honour cross it from the north to the south,

And let them grapple. O, the blood more stirs

To rouse a lion than to start a hare!

HOTSPUR: Henry IV, Part 1, Act 1, Scene 3

HARE (Brown Hare: Lepus europaeus, Mountain Hare: Lepus timidus)

Hares are Shakespeare’s often used metaphor for cowardice, or stupidity, e.g. hare-brained. Hares were hunted for meat and for fur in Shakespeare’s world.

Hares have a rich and complex cultural heritage in many cultures. In Aesop’s famous fable of the Hare and the Tortoise the Hare stands for arrogance and overconfidence. There are many references to Hares in Classical authors including Homer, Aristotle, Ovid, and Pliny the Elder. Hares are also mentioned in the Bible, in the list of unclean foods listed in Old Testament Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, although this taboo was not observed in Tudor England.

There are 2 Hare species in Britain, the Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) introduced at least since the Roman period, and the native Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus). Both Hare species are larger than Rabbits and have longer ears with a black tip. Brown Hares as their name suggests have a brown fur and Mountain Hares have a greyish fur which changes to white in winter. Mountain Hares have recently been assessed as Near Threatened in Britain. They live mainly in parts of Scotland. Globally the European or Brown Hare is decreasing and the Mountain Hare is stable.

More Information

Folger Shakespeare Library: Search Shakespeare’s Works

Geneva Bible 1599 edition: Search for term ‘Hare’

IUCN Global Red List: Mountain Hare, European or Brown Hare

The Mammal Society: Mountain Hare

Perseus Digital Library: Search for term ‘Hare’

Wildlife Trusts: Brown Hare