The Birds of Shakespeare 
Of this knowledge use was made by way 
of simile and illustration in regard to 
human life. How often and how vividly, 
for instance, does Shakespeare, by means 
of an analogy from the world of birds, 
portray the depth of man’s feelings,—his 
joy, his sorrow and his suffering! 
The law of evolution, which has been 
so supreme in the history of organised life 
on the globe, does not leave the human 
mind outside of its influence. If there 
was proof of progress in poetic insight 
between the days of Chaucer and those of 
Shakespeare, we may expect to find on 
examination that other two centuries did 
not pass without leaving some evidence of 
change in the tone of our poetry. To 
test this inference, some typical examples 
may be taken from the poetry of the — 
nineteenth century where it deals with 
birds, for comparison with the quotations 
which have been cited from our great 
dramatist. The subject is. obviously far 
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