A Fable
In Aesop’s tales an honest wretch we find,
Whose years and comforts equally declined;
He in two wives had two domestic ills,
For different age they had, and different wills;
One plucked his black hairs out, and one his gray,
The man for quietness did both obey,
Till all his parish saw his head quite bare,
And thought he wanted brains as well as hair.
The Moral
The parties, henpecked William, are thy wives,
The hairs they pluck are thy prerogatives;
Tories thy person hate, the Whigs thy power,
Though much thou yieldest, still they tug for more,
Till this poor man and thou alike are shown,
He without hair, and thou without a crown.
Whose years and comforts equally declined;
He in two wives had two domestic ills,
For different age they had, and different wills;
One plucked his black hairs out, and one his gray,
The man for quietness did both obey,
Till all his parish saw his head quite bare,
And thought he wanted brains as well as hair.
The Moral
The parties, henpecked William, are thy wives,
The hairs they pluck are thy prerogatives;
Tories thy person hate, the Whigs thy power,
Though much thou yieldest, still they tug for more,
Till this poor man and thou alike are shown,
He without hair, and thou without a crown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prior hides his political views in a beautiful poem focused on conformity. This poem is broken into two sections, one metaphorical and one explaining and analyzing this metaphor, separated by two words, "The Moral". The contrast between the metaphorical and the literal appeals to many different types of people. There is a universality in this poem that includes all readers. He was not writing for the rich, intelligent class or the poor, illiterate, but rather anyone that could understand even a line of this poem. It was designed to give a message and the expansion on this first stanza produces the desired effect.
The first stanza is a metaphorical response to the way the king has treated his thrown. The author believes that, like a man with two wives, the king is trying to please everyone while only diminishing his own ideals and thoughts. He gives up himself to appease the two people that he is devoted to. The idea of "wives" implies that these people have power over the man. They are part of the decision-making process in anything that the character does, even his own characteristics. He is trying to please both of these two sides at his own expense. The wives feel as if this man is indebted to them, owing them pieces of himself to please them. In this fight for control, the man who is supposed to be bringing these two sides together ends with nothing.
In the second stanza, Prior does some of the work for his readers by providing an analysis of his own poem. He interprets the meaning and explains his own intentions. He reveals how separated the two parties of his government are and what it is doing to both his king and his country. These groups are taking the pieces of the government that they can get a hold of, each taking different pieces and ideas for their own. This creates a divide and leaves the king without the power he once had. The "hair" of the first stanza represents laws and shifts in power throughout the years. Prior compares it with "a crown" in the last line, but this is a metaphor for the king's power and control over his own country in the wake of these selfish parties.
The format of this poem produces an interesting viewpoint of politics in the 17th century. Prior's deliberate choice in writing the second stanza emphasizes the importance of this political issue to the author. He includes an explanation of his poetry in simple terms to reach as many people as possible. He wants the information contained within his poetry to mean something to those who may not be able to think metaphorically or process this information without the insight that the author provides. Prior wanted to reach the largest audience possible by making his work accessible to anyone who could read English. He separates these two stanza's with the words "The Moral" because the second stanza isn't simply a summary of the stanza before it, but a way of thinking. It is something a person can align themselves with, create ideas based on and build their own viewpoint off of. It is the "moral" because it is not a matter of opinion to prior, but a truth that, once accepted, will create a better, more well-rounded person. Prior believes this is the right way of thinking and accepts less than this opinion as an insult.
The first stanza is a metaphorical response to the way the king has treated his thrown. The author believes that, like a man with two wives, the king is trying to please everyone while only diminishing his own ideals and thoughts. He gives up himself to appease the two people that he is devoted to. The idea of "wives" implies that these people have power over the man. They are part of the decision-making process in anything that the character does, even his own characteristics. He is trying to please both of these two sides at his own expense. The wives feel as if this man is indebted to them, owing them pieces of himself to please them. In this fight for control, the man who is supposed to be bringing these two sides together ends with nothing.
In the second stanza, Prior does some of the work for his readers by providing an analysis of his own poem. He interprets the meaning and explains his own intentions. He reveals how separated the two parties of his government are and what it is doing to both his king and his country. These groups are taking the pieces of the government that they can get a hold of, each taking different pieces and ideas for their own. This creates a divide and leaves the king without the power he once had. The "hair" of the first stanza represents laws and shifts in power throughout the years. Prior compares it with "a crown" in the last line, but this is a metaphor for the king's power and control over his own country in the wake of these selfish parties.
The format of this poem produces an interesting viewpoint of politics in the 17th century. Prior's deliberate choice in writing the second stanza emphasizes the importance of this political issue to the author. He includes an explanation of his poetry in simple terms to reach as many people as possible. He wants the information contained within his poetry to mean something to those who may not be able to think metaphorically or process this information without the insight that the author provides. Prior wanted to reach the largest audience possible by making his work accessible to anyone who could read English. He separates these two stanza's with the words "The Moral" because the second stanza isn't simply a summary of the stanza before it, but a way of thinking. It is something a person can align themselves with, create ideas based on and build their own viewpoint off of. It is the "moral" because it is not a matter of opinion to prior, but a truth that, once accepted, will create a better, more well-rounded person. Prior believes this is the right way of thinking and accepts less than this opinion as an insult.
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