The Birds of Shakespeare 
With pardonable exaggeration, Juliet, as 
she stood alone in the orchard awaiting 
her lover, gave vent thus to her longing: 
Come, night ; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night; 
For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night 
Whiter than new snow on a raven’s back.! 
The blackness of this bird in contrast 
to the pure whiteness of a dove, supplies 
an image to Lysander, mistakenly be- 
witched by the mischievous Puck : 
Not Hermia but Helena I love : 
Who will not change a raven for a dove ?? 
The Raven has long had the evil reput- 
ation of not only killing the smaller wild 
animals but, in common with the’ crows 
and kites, of watching for and attacking 
those of larger size that look enfeebled by 
disease or accident. Thus we read that 
Vast confusion waits, 
As doth a raven on a sick-fallen beast, 
The imminent decay of wrested pomp.® 
1 Romeo and Juliet, Wt. i. 17. 
2 Midsummer-Nigh?’s Dream, 1. ii. 113. 
3 King John, iw. ii. 152. 
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