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Bird-catching as a love allegory : a comparison of Greco-Roman and early modern English literature
Green, Ashleigh
Green, Ashleigh
Author
Abstract
In the literature of early modern England, particularly Lyly, Shakespeare, and Spenser, love and sexual desire are commonly allegorised in terms of luring, trapping, and shooting birds. This paper investigates the classical origins of this symbolism, revealing how authors used Greek and Roman metaphors of love-as-fowling to inform their own works, with Cupid himself often imagined as a bird. It reconstructs technical and terminological aspects of fowling, arguing that we can only understand why bird-catching was used to express desire once we have answered fundamental questions of how, when, and by whom birds were traditionally caught.
Keywords
birds, bird-catching, love, romance, sexual desire, literature, early modern England
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Book
Volume
40
Issue
1
Page Range
181-208
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
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Open Access Status
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All rights reserved
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Notes
Copyright © 2023 Ashleigh Green
Funding: This paper was written with the assistance of a 2022 Centre for the History of Emotions Virtual Fellowship at the University of Western Australia
Funding: This paper was written with the assistance of a 2022 Centre for the History of Emotions Virtual Fellowship at the University of Western Australia