Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) by Missy Dunaway, 30x22 inches, acrylic ink on paper
Painting Key
Birds: 4 Eurasian wrens (Troglodytes troglodytes), 1 Eurasian wren chick, 1 dead Eurasian wren, 1 European robin
Moths: 21 moths (2 elephant hawk-moth, 1 emperor moth, 1 garden tiger moth, 2 heart & darts, 2 Kentish glories, 2 northern spinach, 1 poplar hawk-moth, 1 privet hawk-moth, 1 red underwing, 2 scarlet tiger moths, 1 small argent & sable, 2 twenty-plume moths, 2 yellow shells)
Flora: Willow, moss
Objects: 8 Eurasian wren eggs, 22 Eurasian wren feathers, 1 golden eagle feather, 2 tawny owl feathers, 8 festive ribbons in traditional motley colors
Shakespeare’s Wren
Occurrences in text: 9
Plays: Cymbeline, Henry VI Part 2, King Lear, Macbeth, Merchant of Venice, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pericles, Richard III, Timon of Athens, Twelfth Night
Name as it appears in the text: “wren”
This month, we meet the wren. This tiny bird carries an immense amount of folklore, particularly in Ireland, where a holiday is dedicated to it. Before we address Shakespeare’s wren, let’s review its foundation in early modern culture.
The King of All Birds
The wren holds a prominent place in Irish mythology and Catholicism. Known as magus avium or "wizard of birds" in Irish hagiology, it is linked to three saints. Legends tell of wrens nesting in the cloaks of Saint Malo and Saint Calasius, much like the blackbird that nested in the palm of Saint Kevin. In Saint Stephen’s tale, a wren disrupted his escape attempt by awakening the prison guard, leading to his trial and stoning.[1] Saint Stephen is recognized as Christianity’s first martyr.
The ancient Druids believed that wrens delivered prophecies.[2] The wren was also seen as a trickster crowned the 'king of all birds.' This title comes from a Celtic fable about a competition among birds to see who could fly the highest. Knowing the eagle would soar above the rest, the clever wren hid in the eagle’s feathers and hitched a ride. When the eagle reached the highest point, the wren leaped off its back to claim the title of king.[3]
The “king of birds” fable may be the origin of the “Wren Hunt,” an enduring folk ritual in Ireland celebrated on Saint Stephen’s Day, December 26th. A similar tradition, the Ceremony of the Cutty Wren, is celebrated in parts of England.[5] This holiday falls between Christmas and Epiphany, a period marked by festive role-reversal traditions like the Lord of Misrule and the Feast of Fools. As part of this ritual, the 'king of birds'—the wren—is hunted and killed. Though killing a wren is generally believed to bring bad luck, on 'Wren Day,' it brings good luck for a year.[6] “Wrenboys” dress in straw masks and motley clothing, going door to door to parade a dead wren or wooden figurine while singing and dancing.
Does Shakespeare mention Wren Day? Maybe. In Richard III, Richard describes a power reversal involving a wren and an eagle that echoes the “king of birds” fable. The following line, “every Jack became a gentleman,” also evokes the Period of Misrule and Wren Day festivities:
Richard III (Act 1, Scene 3, Line 71)
RICHARD: I cannot tell. The world is grown so bad
That wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch.
Since every Jack became a gentleman,
There’s many a gentle person made a Jack.
This imagery of the wren, a seemingly powerless creature overcoming a mightier one, reappears in Macbeth. Here, the wren symbolizes bravery and devotion to family. Lady Macduff condemns her husband for abandoning his family by fleeing the country, leaving them unprotected. She compares his actions to the wren, which courageously defends its young against predators like the owl.
Macbeth (Act IV, Scene 2, Line 8)
LADY MACDUFF: Wisdom? To leave his wife, to leave his babes,
His mansion and his titles in a place
From whence himself does fly? He loves us not;
He wants the natural touch; for the poor wren,
The most diminutive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl.
All is the fear, and nothing is the love,
As little is the wisdom, where the flight
So runs against all reason.
Lady Macduff and her children are confronted with murderers sent by Macbeth. Lady Macduff condemns her husband for lacking the wren’s courage. Illustration by Henry Singleton, 1792. Folger Shakespeare Library.
The wren illustrates that even small creatures can show remarkable strength, especially while protecting their families. This is intensified by the early modern belief that the wren was the female counterpart to the male European robin.[7] We can assume that any mention of the wren in Shakespeare’s works refers to a female bird. By highlighting the wren’s bravery, Lady Macduff subtly emasculates her husband, contrasting his perceived cowardice with the courage of a small female bird.
Shakespeare, the Wren, and Scientific Accuracy
Lady Macduff calls the wren “the most diminutive of birds.” In Shakespeare’s works and early modern folklore, like the “king of all birds” fable, the wren is frequently depicted as the smallest bird. In reality, this title belongs to the goldcrest in the British Isles,[8] while globally, it’s held by the bee hummingbird of Cuba.[9] It might be tempting to see this as an ornithological error. However, it would be unwise to assume that Shakespeare and his early modern audiences—people whose lives were closely connected with nature—would make such a mistake. Instead, the wren’s role in oral tradition and folklore likely held more significance for Shakespeare’s audience than scientific accuracy.
We do find scientific accuracy in other elements of Shakespeare’s wren, illustrating his ability to blend natural observation with folklore to add thematic depth. For example, wrens lay between six and nine eggs. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare precisely attributes the wren to having nine offspring:
Twelfth Night (Act III, Scene 2, Line 65)
TOBY: Look, where the youngest wren of nine comes.
Adultery is another authentic trait attributed to Shakespeare’s wren. King Lear remarks that the wren commits adultery. Wrens are semi-monogamous birds, often displaying adulterous tendencies despite forming bonded pairs.[10]
King Lear (Act IV, Scene 6, Line 127)
LEAR: Ay, every inch a king.
When I do stare, see how the subject quakes.
I pardon that man’s life. What was thy cause?
Adultery? Thou shalt not die. Die for adultery? No.
The wren goes to ’t, and the small gilded fly does
lecher in my sight. Let copulation thrive, for
Gloucester’s bastard son was kinder to his father
than my daughters got ’tween the lawful sheets.
Adultery was a significant social transgression in early modern England, often viewed through a lens of shame and dishonor. This is exemplified by a familiar Shakespearean boogeyman: the philandering cuckoo and its victim, the horned cuckold. Yet, Lear's observation that birds and insects engage in lustful behavior challenges the distinctions between instinct and human morality. Lear questions if adultery can be immoral if it is a 'natural' act and pushes this idea further by recognizing that sex outside of marriage can create honorable children.
The wren's symbolism in Shakespeare’s work is intricately tied to the concept of family—whether as a fierce protector of its young, the devoted female mate of the robin, or, intriguingly, as a bird that can embody philandering behavior by stepping out of the home.
The Wren’s Song
The wren’s song is another natural characteristic described by Shakespeare. Despite its diminutive size, the wren has a remarkably loud voice. It is estimated that compared to its weight, the wren projects its voice with ten times the force of a crowing rooster.[11] Shakespeare notes the wren’s call twice, but did not seem to have a high opinion of it, as the descriptions are not flattering.
The Merchant of Venice (Act III, Scene 2, Line 111)
PORTIA: The crow doth sing as sweetly as the lark
When neither is attended, and I think
The nightingale, if she should sing by day
When every goose is cackling, would be thought
No better a musician than the wren.
How many things by season seasoned are
To their right praise and true perfection!
Peace—how the moon sleeps with Endymion
And would not be awaked!
In this excerpt from The Merchant of Venice, Portia observes how the meaning of bird songs changes when compared to one another. She muses that the nightingale's song may seem beautiful only because it is heard in isolation, in the stillness of night. If heard by day, when it competes with many other sounds, it might be no more impressive than the wren.
Behind the Painting
My painting features thirteen species of moths native to the British Isles. Moths allude to the wren's family connections, as chicks are primarily fed with moth larvae. Additionally, they bring a sense of busy, fluttering movement that reflects the wren's lively energy. The inclusion of moths—some drab, others vibrant—mirrors the duality of the wren that is both tiny yet mighty, small and loud, adulterous and protective of her family.
To reflect the wren’s association with family, I portrayed four wrens to capture their sociable nature, added a male European robin, and included a wren chick peering out from its nest. I also included two tawny owl feathers as homage to Lady Macduff.
The dead wren, carved figurine, motley-colored ribbons, and crown all nod to the Wren Day traditions, while the eagle feather and ornate crown allude to its fable of origin. I chose this particular crown from the Victoria and Albert Museum collections because it features an eagle in flight at its crest. In my illustration, I added a tiny wren leaping off the eagle-shaped finial.[4]
Endnotes
[1] Greenoak, Francesca, All the Birds of the Air. 2nd ed., (Penguin Books, 1981), p. 223.
[2] Greenoak, Francesca, All the Birds of the Air. 2nd ed., (Penguin Books, 1981), p. 221
[3] Johnson, Ben, “Old Glory & the Cutty Wren,” Historic UK, https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Old-Glory-the-Cutty-Wren/. Accessed 3 Nov 2024.
[4] Crown. 1750, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
[5] Johnson, Ben, “Old Glory & the Cutty Wren,” Historic UK, https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Old-Glory-the-Cutty-Wren/. Accessed 3 Nov 2024.
[6] Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997), Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol, (University of Tennessee Press), pp. 46–48, 60–63.
[7] Harting, J., The Birds of Shakespeare, (London: John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row, 1871), p. 139.
[8] “Goldcrest.” Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/goldcrest. Accessed 2 Nov 2024.
[9] “Get to Know the Bee Hummingbird, the World’s Smallest Bird.” Birdnote, National Audubon Society, https://www.audubon.org/news/get-know-bee-hummingbird-worlds-smallest-bird. Accessed 2 Nov 2024.
[10] Kekewich, Alex, “10 facts about wrens.” Scottish Wildlife Trust, https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2013/06/10-facts-about-wrens/. Accessed 2 Nov 2024.
[11] Kekewich, Alex, “10 facts about wrens.” Scottish Wildlife Trust, https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2013/06/10-facts-about-wrens/. Accessed 2 Nov 2024.