Shakespearean Boars and Dolphins

Abstract

This article explores how Shakespeare combines dreams and animal symbolism to foreground the characterological driving forces of his plots. The article comprises two case studies. Firstly, it investigates Stanley's dream of a boar in Richard III, showing that Shakespeare draws on the boar's various cultural meanings to construct an image of Richard III that is consistent with revisionist Tudor myths, but that Shakespeare also adapts and reshapes these cultural references for the purpose of character representation. Secondly, the article explores Cleopatra's dream of a dolphin-like Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, arguing that the dream image of the dolphin captures Antony's mercurial character and highlights the tragic distance between Cleopatra's celebration of his delphine character and the steadier character types that the play's social and political reality demands.