PIKE

9th April 2024

Photo Credit: abadonian (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

Well, I’ll be acquainted with him if I return,

and ‘t shall go hard but I’ll make a philosopher’s two stone to him

If the young dace be bait for the old pike,

I see no reason in the law of nature but I may snap at him.

Let time shape, and there an end.

FALSTAFF: Henry IV, Part 2, Act 3, Scene 2

PIKE (Esox lucius)

Falstaff compares himself to the cunning and agressive Pike in this quotation. Pike are large, ambush predators who live on all kinds of fish, amphibians and anything that strays within their area.

Pike were eaten in Shakespeare’s world. A 1594 cookbook contains several recipes for Pike and Pike broth.

More Information

Folger Shakespeare: Search Shakespeare’s Works

Foods of England: The Good Huswife’s Handmaide in the Kitchin 1594