The Phoenix and the Turtle

- William Shakespeare
 SUMMARY

The Phoenix and the Turtle is an allegorical poem by William Shakespeare. The phoenix is a
mythical bird that burns into flames every 500 years and rises again from its own ashes. The turtle
(now known as the turtledove) is a bird that typically symbolizes love, loyalty, and devotion. The
poem describes the death of the Phoenix and the Turtle, who together symbolize ideal love. It begins
with a number of birds (including an owl, eagle, swan, and crow) gathering to remember the Phoenix
and the Turtle. The screech-owl and other birds of prey are banned from the gathering because they
symbolize death. The next section of the poem is an “Anthem” that describes the mystical love
between the Phoenix and the Turtle. Their love unites them into one being while also preserving their
individuality. This goes beyond the typical rules of reason and logic. In the third and final section of
the poem, Reason is personified and sings a “Threnos” (funeral dirge) for the lovers. Reason cannot
understand the mystery of how the Phoenix and the Turtle managed to be two and one at the same
time. A love like theirs will never be possible again. With their death, beauty, truth, rarity, and grace
have also left the world. Reason asks the mourners to “sigh a prayer” for the Phoenix and the Turtle,
who are now buried in an urn.

 ANALYSIS

The Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare is an allegorical poem and is regarded as one
of the vague poems of English literature. Because of its obscure content, many contradictory
interpretations are found about the poem. Many critics agree that this poem is the first published
metaphysical poem.

This poem is an elegy in the sense that it is a mourning poem on the death of the famous
Phoenix and his faithful lover Turtle dove. In the poem, the birds become one in love and die
together in a fire. When the poem begins, many birds are called for the funeral procession of the dead
loving birds. For that funeral, some birds are not summoned such as the ‘brutal scream owl’ (Stanza 2)
and ‘fowls of tyrant wing’ (Stanza 3). But the eagle, a ‘feathered king’ (Stanza 3) is invited, and a swan
is given the responsibility to act as ‘the priest in surplice white’ (Stanza 4).

The poem moves on further describing the loving relationships of phoenix and the turtle dove.
Their love is strong and pure that they have become one and even longer distances cannot do any
separation. Though their physical bodies are miles away, they are united in the soul. Still being so true
to love and faithful to each other, they cannot be one is the bitter truth for them. They faced the
dismay in love and the tragic end.

The rest of the five stanzas are the lamentation of the birds gathered there for the funeral of the
great lovers. Though they cannot be one while living, they unite after death and even the death cannot
 The Phoenix and the Turtle
- William Shakespeare
get the victory over them in terms of separating. As their love is not physical, but spiritual, they did
not leave any descendants. The poem ends with a sad note that their death has brought the loss of
truth and beauty on that day and the supporter of truth and beauty should do a funeral prayer for
their souls.

The symbolic or allegorical meaning of "The Phoenix and the Turtle" is open to interpretation. It
is believed that the birds represent Queen Elizabeth I and the Second Earl of Essex, Robert
Devereux. Devereux had distinguished himself in a military campaign in The Netherlands against the
Spanish in 1586 and went on to become a favorite of the queen. But he provoked her anger when he
took part in a Portugal campaign without her consent and then, in 1590, married the widow of writer
Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586). However, he regained her favor after leading an English force against
France in 1591 and enhanced his position at court by uncovering an alleged murder plot against the
queen in 1594. But after he participated in further military exploits against the Spanish in 1596 and
1597, he fell in disfavor because of his unruliness and ambition, and on one occasion the queen even
slapped him. On a campaign against rebels in Ireland, he suffered a defeat and made an objectionable
treaty. Consequently, Elizabeth stripped him of his estates and political offices. In 1601, he led a failed
uprising against the queen and was executed for treason in the Tower of London. Interpreted against
this background, the poem could mean that the love between Elizabeth and Essex simply burned itself
out, like the phoenix and the dove in the poem.

 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE

The hidden, or symbolic, meaning of “The Phoenix and the Turtle” is open to interpretation. In
other words, what or whom the birds symbolize is a matter for the reader to decide. Some readers
believe the birds represent Queen Elizabeth I and the Second Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux (1566 or
1567-1601). Devereux had distinguished himself in a military campaign in The Netherlands against
the Spanish in 1586 and went on to become a favorite of the queen. But he provoked her ire when he
took part in a Portugal campaign without her consent and then, in 1590, married the widow of writer
Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586).

However, he regained her favor after leading an English force against France in 1591 and
enhanced his position at court by uncovering an alleged murder plot against the queen in 1594. But
after he participated in further military exploits against the Spanish in 1596 and 1597, he fell in
disfavor because of his unruliness and ambition, and on one occasion the queen even slapped him. On
a campaign against rebels in Ireland, he suffered a defeat and made an objectionable truce.
Consequently, Elizabeth stripped him of his estates and political offices. In 1601, he led a failed
uprising against the queen and was executed for treason in the Tower of London.
 The Phoenix and the Turtle
- William Shakespeare

Interpreted against this background, the poem could mean that the love between Elizabeth and
Essex simply burned itself out, like the phoenix and the dove in the poem. However, distinguished
critic G.B. Harrison, editor of Shakespeare: The Complete Works maintains that the exact meaning of
the poem (if one was intended by Shakespeare) may never be revealed because its symbolism was
apparently known only to a select inner circle in Shakespeare’s time. “Until these persons and events
are discovered,” Harrison says, “The Phoenix and the Turtle will remain an enigma” (Shakespeare: The
Complete Works. New York: Harcourt, 1952. Page 1590).

 SYMBOLISM

The Phoenix and the Turtle

The phoenix is generally thought to symbolize beauty, chastity, and perfection. It is a mythical
bird that rises from its own ashes. In the poetry of the Italian Renaissance poet Petrarch, the phoenix
is a symbol for his beautiful and virtuous lover Laura. These meanings are present in Shakespeare’s
poem, but what is more important is what the Phoenix and the Turtle symbolize when joined in love:
beauty, truth, rarity, and grace.

The turtledove is traditionally a symbol for devotion, faithfulness, and affection in marriage. In
Shakespeare’s poem too, the Turtle is described as having a “loyal breast.” At the same time, more
important than any individual symbolism of the Turtle is the ideal love that the two represent when
they come together.

The entire poem is an extended allegory on the meaning of love. The love between the Phoenix and
the Turtle represents a divine form of love in which the lovers are both joined and individual. This
love defies the rules of logic and even physics. They are both themselves and each other, distant and
joined. If their love is an allegory for a form of love that is both beautiful and true, their death also
shows the disappearance of beauty and truth from the world. The kind of love the poem describes is
no longer possible.

 MOTIF
1. One and two

The poem repeatedly plays with the words “one” and “two” to show how the love between the
Phoenix and the Turtle unites them while also preserving their individuality. For example, the poem
tells us that they “lov’d, as love in twain [two] / Had the essence but in one.” Elsewhere it comments
on the same paradox of the lovers remaining both one and two: “How true a twain/Seemeth this
concordant one!”
 The Phoenix and the Turtle
- William Shakespeare

2. Death

The poem repeatedly describes death. This begins with the screech-owl who is not invited to mourn
because it is a “Foul precurrer of the fiend” (a bad forerunner of death). Similarly, all birds of prey
(with the exception of the king-like eagle) are forbidden to join in the ceremony because of their
association with killing and death. The swan is also associated with death, but in a more positive light
because the bird is described as singing as it dies. The rest of the poem repeatedly brings back the
motif of death by describing the passing of the Phoenix and the Turtle.

 STRUCTUTRE
 THEMES
1. Lovers fusing but remaining separate

The idea of lovers fusing to become one is an old theme in Western literature, from Plato to the
Renaissance. In “The Phoenix and the Turtle,” Shakespeare does something different. The two lovers
fuse, but at the same time, they remain separate. They have “Hearts remote, yet not asunder.” The two
lovers possessed “Single nature’s double name.” That is, they share one nature but have two separate
names or identities. Being separate allows them to recognize each other as individuals: “the Turtle
saw his right / Flaming in the Phoenix’s sight.”

2. Mathematics

The love between the Phoenix and the Turtle breaks the laws of mathematics: “Two distincts,
division none; / Number there in love was slain.” They remain one and two at the same time. In fact,
their union can be described both as 1+1=2 and 1+1=1. This is why “Number” is killed. It cannot grasp
the fact of their love. At the same time, Shakespeare drew on a belief that one was not a number since
any number multiplied by one makes the same number.

3. Chastity

The Phoenix and the Turtle are described as representing “married chastity.” They have no
“posterity,” which implies that they did not have a sexual relationship. Their love was mystical and
spiritual rather than simply physical. Similarly, the chastity of the birds who gather at the funeral is
also emphasized. The unnamed “bird of loudest lay” serves as the herald inviting all “chaste wings.” In
this case, chastity means not only abstaining from sex but also purity of heart and intention. In
addition, the crow joins the ceremony for the Phoenix and the Turtle because it is thought to
reproduce through its breath rather than through sex. Both the two lovers and their mourners
reinforce the theme of chastity.
 The Phoenix and the Turtle
- William Shakespeare

4. Death of truth and beauty

With the death of the Phoenix and the Turtle, truth and beauty also die. In the Threnos section of
the poem, beauty and truth (as well as rarity and grace) are described as “enclos’d in cinders.” The
Phoenix and the Turtle are gone and have left no offspring behind. Similarly, there is no sign in the
poem that the Phoenix will be reborn from her ashes. With the two lovers dead, “Truth may seem but
cannot be.” Even if something seems like truth, it cannot be. Similarly, “Beauty may brag but ‘tis not
she.” Even if something claims to be beautiful, it will not be so. The Phoenix and the Turtle were
themselves beauty and truth made manifest. Without them, the world will not be the same.

5. Reason's confusion

In the poem, Reason is described as “confounded” or confused. The love between the Phoenix and
the Turtle shocks Reason because it breaks the rules of logic. Reason sees “division grow together,”
which is a contradiction. Something cannot be both divided and together at the same time. At the same
time, the lovers are both “simple” (singular) and “compounded” (combined). Reason is so confused
that it cries out in the poem and denounces itself, saying that love is the real reason, while reason is
entirely lacking in reasonableness: “Love has reason, reason none.” The poem shows that certain
truths cannot be grasped by reason alone. Love is one of these truths.

 WHY ARE CERTAIN BIRDS ALLOWED OR NOT ALLOWED TO JOIN THE MOURNING
CEREMONY FOR THE PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE?

Each potential mourner symbolizes something different. Some have positive associations that
make them suitable to join the gathering and others have negative associations. The unspecified
“bird of the loudest lay” is invited for the gathering’s “herald” because of its loud voice and
association with the palm tree (a symbol of the Phoenix). The screech-owl and other birds of prey
are excluded because of their association with death. The eagle is allowed, however, because it
symbolizes royalty. The swan represents religion and the crow represents longevity, so they are
also allowed to join the group of “chaste wings.”

 HOW DOES THE POEM REPRESENT THE IDEAL FORM OF LOVE THROUGH ALLEGORY?

The love and death of the Phoenix and the Turtle is an allegory for ideal love. Their love is
described as “married chastity.” Their marriage is not physical but spiritual. They are both united
as one being and separate individuals. With their death, this ideal form of love comes to an end.
The beauty and truth the two lovers represent are no longer possible.
 The Phoenix and the Turtle
- William Shakespeare
 WHY ARE NUMBER AND REASON CONFUSED BY THE LOVE BETWEEN THE PHOENIX AND
THE TURTLE?

Number and Reason are personified in the poem. They are confused by the love between the
Phoenix and the Turtle because it contravenes the laws of mathematics and logic. In math,
something cannot be both one and two at the same time, yet the Phoenix and the Turtle are both
individual and united. Similarly, Reason cannot understand how the lovers can be both close and
distant, united and divided.

 WHAT HAPPENS TO BEAUTY AND TRUTH WHEN THE PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE DIE?

The love between the Phoenix and the Turtle represents truth and beauty. With their death,
these ideals are no longer possible. Things may appear to be true, but they cannot be anymore.
Similarly, beauty as an ideal has also died with the lovers. The world is forever changed, which is
why the tone of the poem is mournful.

 WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF FIRE IMAGERY IN THE POEM?

The phoenix is a mythical bird typically associated with fire. It bursts into flame every 500
years and is reborn from its own ashes. In the poem, fire represents the love between the Phoenix
and the Turtle. Their love is a “mutual flame,” not just the flame of the Phoenix. Similarly, fire
imagery is also associated with the Turtle, who sees “his right / Flaming in the Phoenix’s sight.”

 WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF THE PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE

 WHAT KIND OF TEXT IS THE PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE?
 WHAT IS ALLEGORICAL POEM?