Guess how many times the actual word "animal" shows up in all of Shakespeare's plays??HUH????      C'MON!!!!!      GUESS!!!!!!!There are all KINDS of animals in the canon - mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles - they're all in there!!!In this episode, we begin to scratch (ha!!) the surface... of the winter lion, the Hyrcanian tiger, and baited bear; the little shrew and the necessary cat; bottled spiders and horned toads; brave harts and gentle hinds; the forward horse and preposterous ass; the temple-haunting martlet, morning lark, nightly owl, and winging crow; the nibbling sheep and hunger-starved wolves; the chafed boar, princely palfrey, fat oxen, and spotted leopards; stranger curs, mastiffs, hellhounds...You get the idea.To send us an email - please do, we want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To support us (by giving us money - per episode if you like!)...On Patreon, go here:  https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35662364&fan_landing=trueOr on Paypal:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=8KTK7CATJSRYJTo visit our website, go here:https://www.thebardcastyoudick.comTo donate to an awesome charity, go here:https://actorsfund.org/help-our-entertainment-communiity-covid-19-emergency-reliefLike us? Leave us a five-star rating AND a review wherever you get your podcasts!!Episode Sources:Years and years of experience with Shakespeare from two rather opinionated theatre professionals, you dicks!!!!  And cunts. (Owen insisted we add this.)BUT ALSO:Hartung, James Edmund - The Ornithology of Shakespeare, London: Woodfall and Kinder, Milford Lane, Strand, W.C.Shannon, Laurie - The Eight Animals in Shakespeare; or, Before the Human, PMLA , Vol. 124, No. 2 (March 2009, pp. 472-479 (8 pages), Cambridge University PressMany, many other books!