An explanation of Lucentio’s description of Bianca’s “coral lips” in Act 1, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.
Lucentio
Tranio, I saw her coral lips to move,
And with her breath she did perfume the air.
Sacred and sweet was all I saw in her.
Although it has almost completely disappeared in modern times, in Shakespeare’s day a highly valued, beautiful red coral grew in the Mediterranean Sea.
