Easter Eggs

Symbols of Life and Renewal

Bibliographic Data

ID8932036
AuthorsVenetia Newall (The London College, corresponding author)
Year1984
Volume95
Issue1
Pages21-29
Publication date1984-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueFolklore (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0015587x.1984.9716293
OpenAlexW1997149664
LanguageEN
Citations received4

continued to arrive long after the book was published; hence this paper which, like my book, is not in fact confined to Easter Eggs. I hasten to add at this point that not all the material received was of equal value. I remember, for instance, a paper entitled The Cleft Egg in King Lear. It describes at some length: 'three carefully presented references to cracked eggs, which constitute a relatively minor image-pattern with major overtones. These references have an importance that is usually overlooked [as] ... they are an organic part of Shakespeare's tragedy. This paper did not, I must confess, contribute greatly to my understanding of King Lear. More appealing was the unfortunately undocumented Noah's Ark story which told how, when the floods came, Noah collected together all the birds and animals and sailed away with his family in an eggshell. The fragile craft began to leak very badly and they were all in danger of drowning when Noah had an idea: he plugged the leak with a hare's tail and everyone was saved.2 The egg occupied an important position in the customs and beliefs of many nations. By its very nature it is rich in symbolism. As Jeremias Gotthelf says, it is: 'a capsule containing the germ of life.'3 The egg and the origins of life and existence have been closely linked ever since Plutarch posed the controversial question 'which came first, the chicken or the egg,' presenting us with a problem of cause and effect in philosophy

Biology · Genealogy · Classical Philosophy and Thought · History

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