Skip to main content

The Phoenix and the Turtle

  • The Phœnix and the Turtle
Sort Name
Phoenix and the Turtle, The
Type
Poem
Language
English
Ratings
No reviews

Wikipedia

The Phoenix and the Turtle (also spelled The Phœnix and the Turtle) is an allegorical poem by William Shakespeare, first published in 1601 as a supplement to a longer work, Love's Martyr, by Robert Chester. The poem, which has been called "the first great published metaphysical poem", has many conflicting interpretations. The title "The Phoenix and the Turtle" is a conventional label. As published, the poem was untitled. The title names two birds: the mythological phoenix and the turtle dove.

The 67-line poem describes a funeral arranged for the deceased Phoenix and Turtledove, to which some birds are invited, but others excluded. The Phoenix and Turtledove are emblems of perfection and of devoted love, respectively. The traditional attribute of the Phoenix is that when it dies, it returns to life, rising from the ashes of its prior incarnation; the Turtledove, by contrast, is mortal. The poem states that the love of the birds created a perfect unity which transcended all logic and material fact. It concludes with a prayer for the dead lovers.

Continue reading at Wikipedia... Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Annotation

Allegorical poem about the death of ideal love first published in 1601.

Last modified: 2020-08-02 (revision #17275)

Editions

NameFormatISBNRelease Date
The Phoenix and the Turtle?09055722971601
Add Edition

Identifiers

LibraryThing Work
2939208
Wikidata ID
Q1196220

Related Collections

This entity does not appear in any public collection.
Click the "Add to collection" button below to add it to an existing collection or create a new one.

Reviews No reviews

No reviews yet.


Last Modified
2020-08-02