Haylie Swenson
Of the flattering, pampered, reviled, predatory, “harmless, necessary” early modern cat
Cats were considered pests, carriers of disease, and indicators of witchcraft, but also objects of affection and partners in play.
The political insect: Bees as an early modern metaphor for human hierarchy
Shakespeare and his contemporaries were fascinated with bees as metaphors for human behavior, especially when it came to politics and government.
Owls in the early modern imagination: Ominous omens and pitiable sages
Conrad Gessner. Icones animalium quadrupedum. 1560. Folger Shakespeare Library. Owls were bad omens for Shakespeare and his contemporaries. The general of the French forces, facing an English emissary in Henry VI, Part 1, calls him “Thou ominous and fearful owl…
Hares, conies, and rabbits: The hunted and the melancholy
Edward Topsell. The historie of foure-footed beastes. 1607. Folger Shakespeare Library. STC 24123 Copy 2. When, in Henry IV, Part II, Bardolph calls his page a “whoreson upright rabbit,” he’s not exactly thinking of the animal we now know as…
Shakespeare's much-maligned toads and frogs
Edward Topsell. The historie of serpents… 1608. Folger Shakespeare Library. There may not be a more insulted character in all of Shakespeare’s canon than Richard III. The woman he’s wooing, Anne, calls him a hedgehog. In the very next scene,…
"Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen": Hedgehogs in Shakespeare's plays and the early modern imagination
Edward Topsell. The historie of foure-footed beastes. 1607. FOLGER STC 24123 copy 1 While the global population of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) is stable, their numbers have been rapidly declining in the UK for decades, especially in rural areas. This…
Wild Things: Rats in early modern life and Shakespeare's plays
On Saturday, January 25, the Lunar New Year will mark the beginning of the Year of the Rat. According to legend, the Jade Emperor held a race for the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac to determine their order. The…
Introducing Wild Things: Animals in early modern life and culture
Edward Topsell. The historie of foure-footed beastes. 1607. Title page. Folger STC 24123 Copy 2 How many animals have you encountered today, and in what forms? From pets and urban species such as squirrels and sparrows, to meat products and…