7 Bees

The significance of William Shakespeare’s use of the bee kingdom in his drama and poetry lies in the way that he simultaneously observes and challenges entrenched conventions in the literary tradition. Shakespeare’s apiological references—bees, drones, honey, the hive—reveal a nuanced understanding of how hierarchy governs and impedes human interactions and how the division of labor, both human and nonhuman, so often begets violence and betrayal. Bees pollinate farmers’ and gardeners’ crops, and the honey and wax the hive yields are viewed as valuable products for human’s consumption and commodities for their financial gain. For female characters in Shakespeare, the honey trope consistently indicates heroines’ observance of ideals of feminine virtue, particularly chastity and innocence. By the time Shakespeare is writing, virgin bees are reframed in England as chaste and wholesome. In his tragedies, histories, and poetry, Shakespeare promotes a dichotomy of virtue where honeyed descriptions generally indicate masculine treachery and feminine purity.