And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian’s nose looks red and raw.[37]
Or we are presented with a storm in which we see
A flight of fowl
Scattered by winds and high tempestuous gusts.[38]
In many passages, to some of which I shall presently allude, the poet heightens the gloom of night by allusion to the nocturnal birds which screech or moan in the dark, or he lightens its eeriness with the pensive melody of the nightingale.
Shakespeare was keenly alive to the strong contrasts so continually placed in juxtaposition by Nature—what he calls
Melodious discord, heavenly tune harsh-sounding,
Ear’s deep-sweet music, and heart’s deep-sore wounding.[39]