Bards of a feather…
The motif of birds in Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Motifs have quickly become one of my favourite methods to explore when teaching literature at Key Stage 4. I love the fact that they give students confidence by enabling them to return to the same method multiple times throughout a text. I love the fact that you can unpick different layers of meaning over time, with each exploration unlocking a new realm of interpretation. I love that they encourage students to make connections between different parts of a text, allowing for discussions around structure as well as language. I love that, once understood, they are a useful tool for students to use when crafting their own writing.
This summer, I delved into Pryke and Staniforth’s wonderful ‘Ready to Teach: A Christmas Carol’ (side note, I am PRAYING for a ‘RTT: Romeo and Juliet’ in the near future) and was delighted to learn more about the numerous motifs employed by Dickens: light and dark, thresholds, eyes. These motifs have become a staple in my teaching of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and have aided some of my weakest KS4 students to feel confident in their analysis of the text. But still, my favourite motif to explore is Shakespeare’s motif of birds in ‘Romeo and Juliet’. It helps that this is my most beloved GCSE text anyway. But I love teaching the motif of birds most of all.
What is a motif?
The Oxford Dictionary definition of a motif is ‘a dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work’. I like to define it as a recurring image with symbolic significance. I find this definition is easier for students to grasp: they know to look for an image (something visual) that has deeper meaning and is mentioned multiple times. We teach symbolism in KS3, starting with symbolism in Dystopian fiction (such as light and dark imagery to symbolise rebellion in Bradbury’s ‘The Pedestrian’) and then build to exploring motifs at KS4. The journey from symbol to motif is a natural progression.
The motif of light and dark in ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Perhaps the most prominent motif to explore in Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is the motif of light and dark (or daytime and night-time). As well as facilitating links and embedding understanding of the use of the same method in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and many other texts, there is lots to unpack with the motif of light and dark. One of my favourite analytical discussions to have is about this motif and ideas of safety versus danger. Whilst the rest of the world typically associate light with daytime and thus with safety, Romeo and Juliet implicitly (and often even explicitly) associate light with danger instead (Act 3 Scene 5, Romeo: More light and light it grows: more dark and dark our woes). Shakespeare uses this to place Romeo and Juliet at odds with the rest of society, representing both their rebellion and their duplicitousness. The motif of light can be seen to symbolise exposure – thus representing the danger of the young couple’s secret love affair being discovered. I also like to debate whether the motif of light and dark symbolises Romeo and Juliet’s inability to co-exist (it is impossible for it to be both day and night) or their necessity to co-exist (how do we understand what light is, without darkness?)
Another fruitful exploration of light versus darkness can be had in relation to Romeo’s emotional journey throughout the play, from his melancholy over Rosaline’s unrequited love (Act 1 Scene 1, Romeo: bright smoke, cold fire, sick health and Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs) to his instant transformation upon seeing Juliet for the first time at the Capulet ball (Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo: She doth teach the torches to burn bright) to his implication that Juliet has become the centre of his universe and his sole benefactor of happiness in the ‘balcony scene’ (Act 2 Scene 2, Romeo: Juliet is the sun).
The motif of birds: ideas of freedom and restriction
Regardless, the motif of birds remains my favourite method to explore in ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Exploration of this motif unlocks a plethora of different interpretations and connections, which I find productive in classes of all attainment levels.
The interpretation I usually explore first is the use of the motif of birds to connote ideas around freedom or restriction. I guide my class to consider this first of all in Act 1 Scene 1, Romeo’s hopeless profession of love for Rosaline to Benvolio. Romeo’s use of the oxymoron ‘feather of lead’ is the perfect example of his confusion over Rosaline and his supposed ‘love’ for her: how can love, which is supposed to bring freedom and liberation (represented in ‘feather’) be so burdensome and oppressive (represented in ‘lead’). Romeo is like a bird trapped in a cage, forever taunted by the unreachable beauty of Rosaline who chooses ‘chastity’ over Romeo’s ‘loving terms’, ‘assailing eyes’ and ‘saint-seducing gold’. Through this we learn that love, when unreturned or disingenuous (depending on how you view Romeo at this point in the play… I usually lean towards the latter), is something that brings feelings of restriction and limitation.
The use of bird imagery to symbolise restriction can be returned to in other parts of the play. Juliet’s labelling of Romeo as a ‘dove-feather’d raven’ in Act 3 Scene 2, for example, could be argued to symbolise her feelings of helplessness at being irrevocably tethered to a man who has proven traitorous by murdering her cousin, Tybalt.
Elsewhere, the motif of birds can be seen to symbolise the opposite idea: freedom. When Romeo happens upon Juliet in Act 1 Scene 5, he immediately labels her a ‘snowy dove trooping with crows’. The juxtaposition between this and ‘feather of lead’ potentially symbolises Romeo’s newfound liberation after having discovered ‘true’ love. This is reinforced in Act 2 Scene 2 when Romeo describes Juliet as a ‘winged messenger of heaven’ – a reference to angels, certainly, but with an unmistakable nod to bird imagery with ‘winged’ – and later responds to Juliet’s question of ‘How camest thou hither’ with ‘With love’s light wings did I o’er-perch these walls’. Here, the bird motif once again evokes images of freedom but potentially to a new level due to the implication that love has not only released Romeo from his emotional imprisonment but has also given him a super-human ability to over-perch ‘stony limits’ (a testament to his enduring and, in my opinion, infuriating idealism).
We also see a potential association between birds and freedom with Juliet’s language in Act 2 Scene 2, as she wishes for ‘a falconer’s voice to lure this tassel-gentle back again!’ Juliet’s wish to be a ‘falconer’ to ‘lure’ her peregrine falcon (Romeo) back to her reveals her overwhelming desire for power. I like to consider, here, the interpretation that part of what makes Romeo so appealing to Juliet is the fact he represents the possibility for her to escape the prison of her family and allows her to experiment with her own power (something Romeo somewhat manipulatively establishes in Act 1 Scene 5 by branding Juliet a ‘shrine’ and himself a ‘pilgrim’). The irony, though, is that Juliet’s freedom and power comes at the expense of Romeo’s: he must become restricted and powerless, like a trained falcon obeying the commands of its handler.
This dichotomy between freedom and restriction is further developed in Act 3 Scene 5, in which the bird motif is used once again in a power-play between the young lovers. Following their wedding night, Juliet claims ‘It is the nightingale, and not the lark, that pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear’, attempting to convince Romeo he is safe to stay longer on Capulet grounds whilst it is ‘not yet near day’ and thus they are still protected by it being night-time (a delightful multi-motif here, with the intersection of bird imagery and light/dark imagery). For once, Romeo sensibly assures Juliet ‘It was the lark, the herald of the morn’ and that he must ‘be gone and live’ lest he ‘stay and die’. Yet Juliet, drunk on love and her newfound power, continues to convince Romeo he can hear the ‘nightingale’. The nightingale as a symbol of safety (due to its association with night-time and thus secrecy and concealment) is also representative of Juliet’s recently discovered power over Romeo. In turn, the nightingale becomes a symbol of Juliet’s liberation at the expense of Romeo’s entrapment. This is consolidated when Romeo relinquishes all power to Juliet and finally agrees that ‘it is not the lark’, only to have Juliet reverse her decision and claim ‘It is the lark’ and that Romeo needs to ‘be gone’. This evidences that Juliet has become the skilled ‘falconer’ she wished to be in Act 2 Scene 2, having acquired the skill to have Romeo satisfy her every whim.
The motif of birds: further interpretations
If I’ve held your attention this far – I’m incredibly grateful. There are a wealth of further interpretations of the bird motif that I could spend hours (nay, days!) writing about. But, alas, we are teachers and one we are rarely afforded is time. So I will make this next section brief but (hopefully) nevertheless useful.
The motif of birds may also be used to explore ideas around impossibility and extraordinary power (such as Act 2 Scene 2, Romeo: with love’s light wings and winged messenger) revealing Romeo’s seemingly unshakable belief that his feelings for Juliet will provide him with power no human could otherwise dream of (potentially also linked to the feelings of liberation that Juliet has unlocked for him). One may also choose to explore historical associations with particular birds, such as the associations between: doves and peace or purity (Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo: so shows a snowy dove) ; ravens and evil or the supernatural (Act 3 Scene 2, Juliet: dove feather’d raven); crows and danger or pests (Act 1 Scene 2, Benvolio: I will make thy swan a crow and Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo: trooping with crows). These associations prove a rich vein not only in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ but also in many of Shakespeare’s other works, especially ‘Macbeth’ (Matt Lynch has delivered a BRILLIANT presentation on the motif of birds in Macbeth which is available on LitDrive).
Summary
If you teach ‘Romeo and Juliet’, whether it be at KS3 and KS4, the motif of birds proves a worthwhile method to unpack with any class. Motifs in general, can be used to explore an abundance of potential analytical interpretations. Whilst ideas around freedom, restriction and power can be particularly useful considerations, the possibilities are potentially endless.
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A final note
This is my first post going into so much depth on an aspect of subject knowledge. It made me particularly nervous to post this considering this play is so close to my heart and I have, until now, never considered my novice self to have much to offer on the subject. I hope you find it useful in some way. If you have any tips, feedback or (I should be so lucky!) requests for further explorations of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, please feel free to let me know on Twitter.
I must also give @JessCappers ALL the credit for the clever title of this post. And thanks to everyone else who replied to my Tweet requesting advice on my language choice.