PRAWN

27th April 2024

Photo Credit: slowmotiongli (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

Did not Goodwife Keech, the butcher’s wife, come in then

and call me Gossip Quickly, coming in to borrow a mess of vinegar,

telling us she had a good dish of prawns, whereby thou didst

desire to eat some, whereby I told thee they were ill for a green wound.

HOSTESS: Henry IV, Part 2, Act 2, Scene 1

PRAWN (Palaemon serratus)

Mistress Quickly gives Falstaff her opinion that eating Prawns with a fresh wound is a bad idea. Prawns were a valued foodstuff and an important part of the diet on religious ‘fish’ days.

Common Prawn (Palaemon serratus) are common in rocky shores around the UK.

More Information

Folger Shakespeare: Search Shakespeare Species

Marine Conservation Society: Are Prawns a good environmental choice?

Marine Stewardship Council: History Bites Prawn

Wildlife Trusts: Common Prawn