Shakespeare and Precious Stones
This is undoubtedly the reason for the comparison between pearls and tears, leading to the German proverb, "Perlen bedeuten Tränen" (Pearls mean tears), which was then taken to signify that pearls portended tears, instead of that they were the offspring of drops of liquid. The world-famed pearl of Cleopatra, which she drank after dissolving it, so as to win her wager with Antony that she would entertain him with a banquet costing a certain immense sum of money, is not even noticed, however, in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. In the poet's time pearls were not only worn as jewels, but were extensively used in embroidering rich garments and upholstery and for the adornment of harnesses. To this Shakespeare alludes in the following passages:
The intertissued robe of gold and pearl.
Henry V, Act iv, sc. I. First Folio,"Histories," p. 85 (page number repeated),
col. B, line 13.
Their harness studded all with gold and pearl.
Taming of the Shrew, Introd., sc. 2. "Comedies," p. 209, col. B, line 33.
Fine linen, Turkey cushions boss'd with pearl.
Ibid., Act ii, sc. 1. "Comedies," p. 217, col. B, line 32. 16
