Tiger

20th November 2023

Photo Credit: Kartik Iyer on Unsplash, Rathambore National Park, Rajasthan, India

“But when the blast of war blows in our ears,

Then imitate the action of the tiger:

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,

Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage,

Then lend the eye a terrible aspect.”

KING HENRY: Henry V, Act 3, Scene 1

Tigers are one of Shakespeare’s favourite metaphors for merciless, unstoppable aggression. Tigers were known from Classical authors and from Medieval Bestiaries but it is unlikely that many people in Shakespeare’s audience or Shakespeare himself would ever have seen a live tiger. Tiger populations have suffered dramatic declines in the past 400 years and the Caspian Tiger, Shakespeare’s ‘Hyrcanian Beast’ became extinct in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

More Information

Tiger Conservation

IUCN Tiger Programme: Visit IUCNSOS Tigers

Wild Cat Conservation Alliance: Visit Wildcats

World Wildlife Fund Tigers: Visit WWF Tigers

Medieval Bestiaries

British Library Bestiaries: Visit Site

Rochester Cathedral Bestiary: Visit Tiger Post

Medieval Animals: Visit Medieval Animals