"The King and the Beggar-maid" is a 16th-century

broadside ballad A broadside (also known as a broadsheet) is a single sheet of inexpensive paper printed on one side, often with a ballad, rhyme, news and sometimes with woodcut illustrations. They were one of the most common forms of printed material between the ...

Thelma G. James (1933), "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads of Francis J. Child", ''The Journal of American Folklore'', Vol. 46 (No. 179), pp. 51–68. that tells the story of an African king, Cophetua, and his love for the beggar Penelophon (Shakespearean ''Zenelophon''). The story has been widely referenced and King Cophetua has become a byword for "a man who falls in love with a woman instantly and proposes marriage immediately".Andrew Delahunty and Sheila Dignen, eds. (2010)
"Cophetua, King"
''The Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion'' (Oxford University Press). Retrieved 22 December 2018.

Story

Cophetua is an African king known for his lack of

sexual attraction Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or mat ...

to women. One day, looking out of a palace window, he witnesses a young beggar, Penelophon, "clad all in grey". Struck by love at first sight, Cophetua decides that he will either have the beggar as his wife or commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Walking out into the street, he scatters coins for the beggars to gather and when Penelophon comes forward, he tells her that she is to be his wife. She agrees and becomes queen, and soon loses all trace of her former

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and

low class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, incom ...

. The couple lives "a quiet life during their princely reign"Dinah Birch, ed. (2009)
"Cophetua, King"
''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'', 7th edition (Oxford University Press). Retrieved 22 December 2018. and are much loved by their people. Eventually they die and are buried in the same tomb.

History

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

mentions the ballad by title in several plays. It is referenced or alluded in ''

Love's Labour's Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and ...

'' (I, ii, 115 and V. i. 65–85), ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' (IV, i, 65), ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' (II, i, 14), ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

'' (V, viii, 80), and ''Henry IV'', part 2 (V, iii, 107), all written in the 1590s.

William Warburton William Warburton (24 December 16987 June 1779) was an English writer, literary critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759 until his death. He edited editions of the works of his friend Alexander Pope, and of William Shakespeare. Li ...

believed that

John Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and ''Henry IV, Par ...

's lines in ''Henry IV'', part 2, referencing Cophetua were taken from a now lost play based on the ballad.Walter C. Foreman (1973), "'The Beggar and the King': An Allusion Pointing to the Date of ''Richard II''", ''Shakespeare Quarterly'', Vol. 24 (No. 4), pp. 462–65. In ''Love's Labour's Lost'', Armado asks his page Moth, "Is there not a ballad, boy, of 'The King and the Beggar'?", to which Moth responds, "The world was very guilty of such a ballad some three ages since, but I think now 'tis not to be found; or, if it were, it would neither serve for the writing nor the tune."Edmondstoune Duncan (1907), ''The Story of Minstrelsy'' (London: Walter Scott Publishing)
pp. 246–47

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

also makes reference to the ballad in his play '' Every Man in His Humour'' (1598) and

William Davenant Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bot ...

in '' The Wits'' (1634). The oldest version of the tale surviving is that titled "A Song of a Beggar and a King" in Richard Johnson's anthology ''Crown Garland of Goulden Roses'' (1612).William Chappell edited and annotate
''The Crown Garland of Golden Roses''
(London: The Percy Society, 1842). "The King and the Beggar" is found o
pp. 45–49
This was the source of the ballad in the first edition of Francis J. Child's ''

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as ''T ...

'' (1855), although it was removed from the second edition (1858). The ballad was also published in Thomas Percy's ''

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry The ''Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'' (sometimes known as ''Reliques of Ancient Poetry'' or simply Percy's ''Reliques'') is a collection of ballads and popular songs collected by Bishop Thomas Percy and published in 1765. Sources The basis ...

'' (1765). The ballad was probably sung to the melody ( air) of "I Often with My Jenny Strove", published first in the third volume of

Henry Playford Henry Playford (1657 – c. 1707) was an English music publisher, the younger son and only known surviving child of John Playford, with whom he entered business. His father died around 1686, but for some time before that he was in poor health. Hen ...

's ''The Banquet of Music'' (1689). In the first volume of the anonymous ''

Collection of Old Ballads ''A Collection of Old Ballads'' is an anonymous book published 1723–1725 in three volumes in London by Roberts and Leach. It was the second major collection of British folksongs to be published, following ''Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melan ...

'' (1723), a ballad titled "Cupid's Revenge"—which is a mere paraphrase of "The King and the Beggar-maid"—appears set to the music of "I Often with My Jenny Strove". This may be the original air of the Cophetua ballad.

In later art and literature

Major treatments

The Cophetua story was famously and influentially treated in literature by

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

(''The Beggar Maid'', written 1833, published 1842); in oil painting by

Edmund Blair Leighton Edmund Blair Leighton (21 September 18521 September 1922) was an English painter of historical genre scenes, specialising in Regency and medieval subjects. His art is associated with the pre-Raphaelite movement of the mid-to-late nineteenth an ...

(''The King and the Beggar-Maid'') and Edward Burne-Jones ('' King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid'', 1884); and in photography by Julia Margaret Cameron and by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

(his most famous photograph;

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

as "Beggar-Maid", 1858). Tennyson's poem was set to music by

Joseph Barnby Sir Joseph Barnby (12 August 183828 January 1896) was an English composer and conductor. Life Barnby was born at York, as a son of Thomas Barnby, who was an organist. Joseph was a chorister at York Minster from the age of seven, was educated ...

(published 1880). The painting by Burne-Jones is referred to in the

prose poem Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis, and emotional effects. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associat ...

''König Cophetua'' by the Austrian poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal and in ''

Hugh Selwyn Mauberley ''Hugh Selwyn Mauberley'' (1920) is a long poem by Ezra Pound. It has been regarded as a turning point in Pound's career (by F. R. Leavis and others), and its completion was swiftly followed by his departure from England. The name "Selwyn" might ...

'' (1920), a long poem by

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

. The painting has a symbolic role in a short

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

'' Le Roi Cophetua'' by the French writer

Julien Gracq Julien Gracq (; 27 July 1910 – 22 December 2007; born Louis Poirier in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, in the French ''département'' of Maine-et-Loire) was a French writer. He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were note ...

(1970). This in turn inspired the 1971 film '' Rendez-vous à Bray'', directed by the Belgian cineaste

André Delvaux André Albert Auguste Delvaux (; 21 March 1926 – 4 October 2002) was a Belgian film director. He co-founded the film school INSAS in 1962 and is regarded as the founder of the Belgian national cinema. Adapting works by writers such as Johan ...

. The story was combined with and inflected the modern re-telling of the

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

myth, especially in its treatment by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

as the 1913 play ''

''. It has also been used to name a sexual desire for lower-class women by upper-class men. Although often attributed first to

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

in his 1951 novel '' The End of the Affair'', the term was used as early as 1942 by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

in her mystery '' The Body in the Library'' Y: Collier, pp. 119-121when

Jane Marple Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of C ...

reflects on the attraction of older wealthy men for young lower-class girls and in 1861 where Anthony Trolloppe referred to the story in Chapter XXXV of Framley Parsonage, his fourth novel of The Barchester Chronicles. Sir Henry Clithering dubs it a "Cophetua Complex." The English poet and critic James Reeves included his poem "Cophetua", inspired by the legend, in his 1958 book ''The Talking Skull''.

Hugh Macdiarmid Christopher Murray Grieve (11 August 1892 – 9 September 1978), best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid (), was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish Rena ...

wrote a brief two-verse poem ''Cophetua'' in Scots, which is a slightly parodic treatment of the story.THE A’EFAULD FORM O’ THE MAZE: THE WRITING OF HUGH MACDIARMID, 1922–1935 – COURSE GUIDE
/ref> Polish composer Ludomir Rózycki wrote a symphonic poem "Król Cophetua", Op. 24, in 1910. Alice Munro titled one story in her 1980 collection, "The Beggar Maid". Before her marriage to Patrick, Rose is told by him: "You're like the Beggar Maid." "Who?" "King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid. You know. The painting." The American edition of Munro's collection is also titled ''The Beggar Maid'', a change from the Canadian title, ''Who Do You Think You Are?''

References

Sources

King Cophetua and the Beggar-Maid (ballad)
{{DEFAULTSORT:King and the Beggar-maid, The Fictional kings 16th-century broadside ballads Works about monarchs