HALCYON (Kingfisher)

16th April 2024

Photo Credit: bridge99 (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

That such a slave as this should wear a sword,

Who wears no honesty. Such smiling rogues as these,

Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain

Which are too intrinse t’ unloose; smooth every passion

That in the natures of their lords rebel -

Being oil to fire, snow to their colder moods -

Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks

with every gale and vary of their masters,

Knowing naught, like dogs, but following.

KENT, King Lear, Act 2, Scene 2

HALCYON/Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Shakespeare is referring to a widespread belief that a dead Kingfisher suspended by a thread could point towards the direction of the wind. Thomas Browne in 1636 spends time debunking this particular myth but it was well-known enough to be used as a metaphor in King Lear.

The name Halcyon relates to a Greek story of metamorphosis where Alycone throws herself into the sea on hearing of her husband’s death and is transformed into a Kingfisher.

Kingfishers are small birds with brightly coloured plumage, adept at fishing in rivers, and still waters including some coastal areas. They suffer from hard winters but are still relatively widespread.

More Information

BTO: Kingfisher

Browne Thomas, 1646 Pseudoxia Epidemica Chapter 10 (accessed via University of Chicago)

Perseus Digital Library: Ovid Metamorphoses, Book 11

RSPB: Kingfisher