Shearing removes the fleece in a single skilled operation, providing wool while helping sheep remain comfortable in warm weather. Traditionally, it was a major seasonal event involving teams of workers, pens, noise, and communal effort. In poetry, shearing can evoke summer labour, craftsmanship, abundance, and the close handling of animals. The stripped sheep may also suggest vulnerability, humiliation, sacrifice, or renewal. Biblical comparisons between silent sheep and human suffering give the act an especially solemn metaphorical range.

Shearing is the skilled removal of a sheep's fleece, generally carried out annually before the hottest weather. Traditional shearing was a major seasonal event involving pens, teams of workers, noise, and rapid hand movements. Poetry may emphasise wool production, community, vulnerability, or the animal's silence before the blades. Related terms include sheep, fleece, wool, shearer, clippers, flock, sheepfold, lanolin, and seasonal labour.