Cloud Cuckoo Land

Birds are the most prolific symbol in this book. Part of their significance is explained by the Greek word for bird: “ὄρνις, ornis, it means both bird and omen” (568). This represents the primary function of birds as symbols of change. The most overt examples of this are Seymour’s owls in the Atlas that reveal uncensored images. Seymour’s connection to owls relates to his relationship to Trustyfriend, who remains important to him throughout the story. Trustyfriend initially foreshadows the looming changes to come for Seymour, and later develops into a symbol of remembrance after his death. The owl is an important choice of symbol because owls often represent wisdom and knowledge in literature and art.

Other salient manifestations of bird symbolism come from Aethon’s story. Aethon spends a year as a crow, which allows him to enter Cloud Cuckoo Land. The “cuckoo” in Cloud Cuckoo Land is another reference to the themes of the book because a cuckoo is a bird that is linguistically linked to craziness or foolishness; to call someone “cuckoo” means that they are crazy. The birds who live in Cloud Cuckoo Land symbolize Aethon’s utopian ideals because they live up in the clouds, away from the concrete reality of the ground.