Macbeth Glossary
It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman (2.2.5-6)
In Renaissance England the hoot of an owl flying over one's house was an evil omen, and meant impending
death for someone inside. Shakespeare refers to the owl as the "fatal bellman" because it was the bellman's job to ring the parish bell when a person in the town was near death. "This was called the "passing bell," and was a signal for all hearers to pray
for the dying person. After the death, there would be one short peal [chime]; from its sound the hearers could tell whether the deceased was male or female" (Singman, Jeffrey.
Daily Life in Elizabethan England. Westport. Greenwood Press. 1995. p.53). In the play, of course, the owl "shriek'd" for King Duncan.
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/macbethglossary/macbeth1_1/macbethglos_owlshriek.html
In Indigenous terms, and for the same reasons, do try not to hear a single Masked Lapwing call at night.
Con
On 26/09/2015 3:55 PM, Terry Bird wrote:
Final verse........
Our owl, well known, makes one wonder
Why should anyone steal our thunder.
We wish him well to find a mate
A dynasty perhaps he could create.
Sent from my iPad
Begin forwarded message:
Here is your owl! J
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From:
ANU Sport <m("anu-sport.com.au","sport");">>
Date: 25 September 2015 at 16:06
Subject: ANU Sport announce mascot
To:
m("gmail.com","jeannette.l.mchugh");">
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ANU Sport - Everything else is academic |
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ANU Sport announce mascot
ANU Sport is pleased to announce that the Owl has been officially adopted as the ANU Sport mascot.
It was a popular choice among the students following a census in 2012 and again in 2015. ANU Sport council agreed the Owl would provide the greatest value as the ANU Sport mascot.
The Owl is symbolic of the ANU communities’ wisdom, whilst also having a strong association with Parliament in Canberra. It is unique to the Australian sporting landscape, noting that is not presently used by any other University or high profile sporting teams.
ANU Sport have recently signed with a new merchandising provider, Kukri Sports. Together Kukri and ANU Sport have designed the Owl and its integration into the merchandise. It has been modelled off the Powerful Owl which resides in Haig Park in Turner – less
than a kilometre from campus. Photos were provided to Kukri of the iconic bird with a directive to highlight the fierce features of the Owl. The final design can be seen below.
146 ANU students will be the first group to identify themselves as the Owls next week at the Australian University Games on the Gold Coast. These students will participate against Australia’s best university athletes across 17 disciplines. An additional 27
students will be representing the ANU at Australian Rowing Championships in Adelaide.
ANU Sport wish all ANU students the best of luck in their respective competitions next week and hope they enjoy all the experiences that University Games has to offer. We are excited by the launch of the Owl and are looking forward to its evolution over the
coming years.
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Brady
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