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All Site ContentMacbethAct 3Scene 4
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Hyrcan tiger
Allusion
Act 3,
Scene 4
Lines 102b-107

An explanation of Macbeth’s allusion to the Hyrcan tiger in Act 3, Scene 4 of myShakespeare’s Macbeth.

Macbeth

                                                                    What man dare, I dare:    
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear,
The armed rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger;
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble — or be alive again,
And dare me to the desert with thy sword.

The Hyrcan tiger is a reference to classical literature, which often mentioned Hyrcan tigers as symbols of ferocity and strength. These tigers originated from Hyrcania, in what is now modern-day Iran. (See Virgil’s Aeneid for an example of this kind of reference.)