The Swan’s Nest: Shakespeare and the birds of Cymbeline

William Shakespeare’s late play Cymbeline set in ancient Britain and Renaissance Italy, artfully uses bird references and illusions to weave a narrative chiefly concerned with sight, seeing, and perception. Shakespeare uses bird imagery to connect the natural world and social hierarchies and to establish how birds act as divine messengers and portents. However, most importantly, he uses it to reflect his characters’ intentions, origins, and possible futures, resulting in a layering of identities that is both complex and easily recognizable to the audience. Shakespeare’s Cymbeline is richly constructed with classical references to the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Ovid, and the bible, to name a few. As done in the bible, Shakespeare similarly draws on literal and symbolic bird references to communicate sophisticated concepts of self-awareness, perception, and understanding. Drawing the audience’s attention to the importance of seeing through another’s eyes or via a different perspective, that of a bird illuminates the dangers many characters face due to their tendencies to fall prey to false or incomplete sight.