Begging and Poor in 1 Henry VI, 1591-92
I am still exploring instances of "beg" and "poor" in other Shakespeare plays, in light of references in Hamlet to the prince as begging or poor, and of the beggar Lazarus allusion in that play (1.5).
1 Henry VI is my focus today. Henry VI, Parts 1-3 takes up where Henry V leaves off, and is in part about the end of the Hundred Years War and the start of the War of the Roses.
[Image from First Folio, File:STC 22273 Fo.1 no.68 k2v.jpg, via Folgerpedia at Folger.edu. Cropped. Fair use.]
In 1 Henry VI, there are 11 instances of “poor” but only two instances of “beg.” In 4.5, John Talbot begs his father to flee, and for him to stay behind and fight to his death (emphasis mine):
Then let me stay; and, father, do you fly:
Your loss is great, so your regard should be;
My worth unknown, no loss is known in me.
Upon my death the French can little boast;
In yours they will, in you all hopes are lost.
Flight cannot stain the honour you have won;
But mine it will, that no exploit have done:
You fled for vantage, everyone will swear;
But, if I bow, they'll say it was for fear.
There is no hope that ever I will stay,
If the first hour I shrink and run away.
Here on my knee I beg mortality,
Rather than life preserved with infamy. (1 Henry VI, 4.5)
Lord Talbot later finds the body of his “poor boy”:
Thou antic death, which laugh'st us here to scorn,
Anon, from thy insulting tyranny,
Coupled in bonds of perpetuity,
Two Talbots, winged through the lither sky,
In thy despite shall 'scape mortality. [Shall die, shall escape mortal life.]
O, thou, whose wounds become hard-favour'd death,
Speak to thy father ere thou yield thy breath!
Brave death by speaking, whether he will or no;
Imagine him a Frenchman and thy foe.
Poor boy! he smiles, methinks, as who should say,
Had death been French, then death had died to-day.
Come, come and lay him in his father's arms:
My spirit can no longer bear these harms.
Soldiers, adieu! I have what I would have,
Now my old arms are young John Talbot's grave. (1 Henry VI, 4.7)
Later, the Earl of Suffolk convinces Henry and court that Margaret of Anjou should be Henry’s queen in spite of a lack of dowry; he secretly wishes to influence Henry through her. Suffolk is the snake in the grass, using pleasing rhetoric to achieve his goals: The reference to the king not being so "base and poor" as to need any dowry is definitely a disparaging one:
A dower, my lords! disgrace not so your king,
That he should be so abject, base and poor,
To choose for wealth and not for perfect love.
Henry is able to enrich his queen
And not seek a queen to make him rich:
So worthless peasants bargain for their wives,
As market-men for oxen, sheep, or horse.
Marriage is a matter of more worth
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship;
Not whom we will, but whom his grace affects,
Must be companion of his nuptial bed:
And therefore, lords, since he affects her most,
It most of all these reasons bindeth us,
In our opinions she should be preferr'd.
For what is wedlock forced but a hell,**
An age of discord and continual strife?
Whereas the contrary bringeth bliss,
And is a pattern of celestial peace.
Whom should we match with Henry, being a king,
But Margaret, that is daughter to a king?
Her peerless feature, joined with her birth,
Approves her fit for none but for a king:
Her valiant courage and undaunted spirit,
More than in women commonly is seen,
Will answer our hope in issue of a king;
For Henry, son unto a conqueror,
Is likely to beget more conquerors,
If with a lady of so high resolve
As is fair Margaret he be link'd in love.
Then yield, my lords; and here conclude with me
That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she. (1 Henry VI, 5.5)
** Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (and a patron of Shakespeare’s) was a royal ward of the Queen who lived in the Cecil household; Cecil tried to marry Southampton to his granddaughter, but Southampton refused.
Like Shakespeare later placing criticism of slavery on the lips of Shylock, he stealthily makes Suffolk the critic of efforts (like Cecil’s) to arrange marriages rather than to have them based on love. But the marriage of Henry VI to Catherine was definitely an arranged marriage.
These are interesting uses of “beg” and “poor.”
~~~~~~~~~~
I have mentioned in previous blog posts that I use the Advanced Search Engine at OpenSourceShakespeare to search for instances of particular words in Shakespeare's plays. I'd like to explain how I do that, in case any of my readers may benefit. There may also be among my readers those who are much better at this than I am, so feel free to leave comments about your experience or recommendations.
First, one should note that there are some searches that might overwhelm the search engine: If a word or phrase appears too often in the works of Shakespeare, the search engine may list, alphabetically, some of the plays where that word or phrase is found, but one has to pay attention to see if other plays were cut off.
Second, some tips for narrowing the searches:
If you search only for "beg," the search will include words you don't want in which "beg" appears, such as begin, began, begun, beguile, begotten, etc. So besides searching FOR a word, it's helpful to include in the advanced search some examples of things you're NOT looking for.
If you enter "beg" as the word you're searching for, and begu as something you're NOT searching for, then this will eliminate both "begun" and "beguile." You have a limited number of options, so it can help to be a bit judicious about what you're searching for, and what you're not. Here's an example of what I did in searching for "beg/beggar/begging/beggars" in Taming of the Shrew:
If you're interested in seeing EVERY instance of "beg" and "poor" that I found in preparing for today's blog post, go to OpenSourceShakespeare's advanced search page, and try it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MORE TO COME: This is part in a new multi-part series: After I came near the end of the previous series, on the Lazarus allusion in Hamlet 1.5 (to the Biblical tale of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar), I decided that since no other character in Hamlet is described as often as Hamlet as begging or poor, I would investigate other Shakespeare plays to see how those two words are used - and to be open to other insights along the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POSTS IN THIS SERIES SO FAR:
1. Beg/beggar/begging/poor in "Two Gentlemen of Verona," 1589-91 - 3 August, 2021
2. Begging and poor in The Taming of the Shrew - 10 August, 2021
3. Begging and Poor in 1 Henry VI, 1591-92 - 17 August, 2021
4. Begging, Poor, Eve, and Protestant-Catholic Context for 2 Henry VI - 31 August, 2021
5. Begging and Poor in 3 Henry VI (1591) - 7 September, 2021
6. Begging & Poor; Dust & Stones in Titus Andronicus (1593) - 14 September, 2021
7. Begging and Poor in Richard III (1592–1593) - 28 September, 2021 8. Begging and Poor in The Comedy of Errors (1594) - 5 October, 2021
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shakespeare quotes: All quotes from Hamlet in older posts have been taken from the Modern (spelling), Editor's Version at InternetShakespeare via the University of Victoria in Canada. In this post and in the future, I will be taking them also from The Folger Shakespeare Library.
- To find them in the first place, I often use the advanced search feature at OpenSourceShakespeare.org.
Bible quotes, when taken from the Geneva translation, widely available to people of Shakespeare's time, are taken from an internet source somewhat close to their original spelling, from studybible.info, and in a modern spelling, from biblegateway.com.
- Quotes from the Bishop's bible, also available in Shakespeare's lifetime and read in church, are taken from studybible.info.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to point out how the Bible may have influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading! My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
1 Henry VI is my focus today. Henry VI, Parts 1-3 takes up where Henry V leaves off, and is in part about the end of the Hundred Years War and the start of the War of the Roses.
In 1 Henry VI, there are 11 instances of “poor” but only two instances of “beg.” In 4.5, John Talbot begs his father to flee, and for him to stay behind and fight to his death (emphasis mine):
Then let me stay; and, father, do you fly:
Your loss is great, so your regard should be;
My worth unknown, no loss is known in me.
Upon my death the French can little boast;
In yours they will, in you all hopes are lost.
Flight cannot stain the honour you have won;
But mine it will, that no exploit have done:
You fled for vantage, everyone will swear;
But, if I bow, they'll say it was for fear.
There is no hope that ever I will stay,
If the first hour I shrink and run away.
Here on my knee I beg mortality,
Rather than life preserved with infamy. (1 Henry VI, 4.5)
Lord Talbot later finds the body of his “poor boy”:
Thou antic death, which laugh'st us here to scorn,
Anon, from thy insulting tyranny,
Coupled in bonds of perpetuity,
Two Talbots, winged through the lither sky,
In thy despite shall 'scape mortality. [Shall die, shall escape mortal life.]
O, thou, whose wounds become hard-favour'd death,
Speak to thy father ere thou yield thy breath!
Brave death by speaking, whether he will or no;
Imagine him a Frenchman and thy foe.
Poor boy! he smiles, methinks, as who should say,
Had death been French, then death had died to-day.
Come, come and lay him in his father's arms:
My spirit can no longer bear these harms.
Soldiers, adieu! I have what I would have,
Now my old arms are young John Talbot's grave. (1 Henry VI, 4.7)
Later, the Earl of Suffolk convinces Henry and court that Margaret of Anjou should be Henry’s queen in spite of a lack of dowry; he secretly wishes to influence Henry through her. Suffolk is the snake in the grass, using pleasing rhetoric to achieve his goals: The reference to the king not being so "base and poor" as to need any dowry is definitely a disparaging one:
A dower, my lords! disgrace not so your king,
That he should be so abject, base and poor,
To choose for wealth and not for perfect love.
Henry is able to enrich his queen
And not seek a queen to make him rich:
So worthless peasants bargain for their wives,
As market-men for oxen, sheep, or horse.
Marriage is a matter of more worth
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship;
Not whom we will, but whom his grace affects,
Must be companion of his nuptial bed:
And therefore, lords, since he affects her most,
It most of all these reasons bindeth us,
In our opinions she should be preferr'd.
For what is wedlock forced but a hell,**
An age of discord and continual strife?
Whereas the contrary bringeth bliss,
And is a pattern of celestial peace.
Whom should we match with Henry, being a king,
But Margaret, that is daughter to a king?
Her peerless feature, joined with her birth,
Approves her fit for none but for a king:
Her valiant courage and undaunted spirit,
More than in women commonly is seen,
Will answer our hope in issue of a king;
For Henry, son unto a conqueror,
Is likely to beget more conquerors,
If with a lady of so high resolve
As is fair Margaret he be link'd in love.
Then yield, my lords; and here conclude with me
That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she. (1 Henry VI, 5.5)
** Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (and a patron of Shakespeare’s) was a royal ward of the Queen who lived in the Cecil household; Cecil tried to marry Southampton to his granddaughter, but Southampton refused.
Like Shakespeare later placing criticism of slavery on the lips of Shylock, he stealthily makes Suffolk the critic of efforts (like Cecil’s) to arrange marriages rather than to have them based on love. But the marriage of Henry VI to Catherine was definitely an arranged marriage.
These are interesting uses of “beg” and “poor.”
~~~~~~~~~~
I have mentioned in previous blog posts that I use the Advanced Search Engine at OpenSourceShakespeare to search for instances of particular words in Shakespeare's plays. I'd like to explain how I do that, in case any of my readers may benefit. There may also be among my readers those who are much better at this than I am, so feel free to leave comments about your experience or recommendations.
First, one should note that there are some searches that might overwhelm the search engine: If a word or phrase appears too often in the works of Shakespeare, the search engine may list, alphabetically, some of the plays where that word or phrase is found, but one has to pay attention to see if other plays were cut off.
Second, some tips for narrowing the searches:
If you search only for "beg," the search will include words you don't want in which "beg" appears, such as begin, began, begun, beguile, begotten, etc. So besides searching FOR a word, it's helpful to include in the advanced search some examples of things you're NOT looking for.
If you enter "beg" as the word you're searching for, and begu as something you're NOT searching for, then this will eliminate both "begun" and "beguile." You have a limited number of options, so it can help to be a bit judicious about what you're searching for, and what you're not. Here's an example of what I did in searching for "beg/beggar/begging/beggars" in Taming of the Shrew:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MORE TO COME: This is part in a new multi-part series: After I came near the end of the previous series, on the Lazarus allusion in Hamlet 1.5 (to the Biblical tale of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar), I decided that since no other character in Hamlet is described as often as Hamlet as begging or poor, I would investigate other Shakespeare plays to see how those two words are used - and to be open to other insights along the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POSTS IN THIS SERIES SO FAR:
1. Beg/beggar/begging/poor in "Two Gentlemen of Verona," 1589-91 - 3 August, 2021
2. Begging and poor in The Taming of the Shrew - 10 August, 2021
3. Begging and Poor in 1 Henry VI, 1591-92 - 17 August, 2021
4. Begging, Poor, Eve, and Protestant-Catholic Context for 2 Henry VI - 31 August, 2021
5. Begging and Poor in 3 Henry VI (1591) - 7 September, 2021
6. Begging & Poor; Dust & Stones in Titus Andronicus (1593) - 14 September, 2021
7. Begging and Poor in Richard III (1592–1593) - 28 September, 2021 8. Begging and Poor in The Comedy of Errors (1594) - 5 October, 2021
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shakespeare quotes: All quotes from Hamlet in older posts have been taken from the Modern (spelling), Editor's Version at InternetShakespeare via the University of Victoria in Canada. In this post and in the future, I will be taking them also from The Folger Shakespeare Library.
- To find them in the first place, I often use the advanced search feature at OpenSourceShakespeare.org.
Bible quotes, when taken from the Geneva translation, widely available to people of Shakespeare's time, are taken from an internet source somewhat close to their original spelling, from studybible.info, and in a modern spelling, from biblegateway.com.
- Quotes from the Bishop's bible, also available in Shakespeare's lifetime and read in church, are taken from studybible.info.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to point out how the Bible may have influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading! My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
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