While not a book/play I am including this.. because I am. It was written around the time of Twelfth Night and it is an allegorical poem that means any number of things. Read six reviews and you will get seven opinions (e.g. it could be about Elizabeth l the virgin queen..She had associations with a Phoenix… ) but however it is interpreted, it is quite lovely and gets better the more you read it.
It starts with birds coming in to a funeral for the Phoenix and the turtle dove. Mostly I like how the screech owl is forbidden, being a bit of a doom ridden outcast.. and the bird of prey, of foule tyrant wing, but ok, the crow suitably attired all in black and eagle are permitted and of course the swan. The lines following that are quite beautiful I think.
Anyway, I have included it in my Shakespeare project but I am woefully behind with the sonnets. Maybe the sonnets will have to be a 2024 project because I can’t catch up and do them justice at this stage.