Non African Poetry: William Morris’ the Proud King – SS1 Literature-in-English Lesson Note (Second Term)

The Proud King by William Morris is a narrative poem about King Jovinian, who boasts that he is God, loses his place and is restored after he learns humility.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. state the two older stories that The Proud King resembles;
2. describe how King Jovinian shows his pride at the start of the poem;
3. narrate what happens to Jovinian on the hunting trip and afterwards;
4. name the characters who fail to recognise Jovinian as king;
5. explain the lesson Jovinian learns at the end of the poem.

What is the source of the story in The Proud King?

The poem is a retelling of two older stories: the Bible story of King Nebuchadnezzar and a legendary story of King Solomon from the Talmudic text.

• Nebuchadnezzar story: a Bible story of a proud king who is humbled.
• Solomon story: a legend from the Talmud about King Solomon.
• Shared idea: a proud king is brought low and learns humility.
• Poet: William Morris is an English poet, so this is a non-African poem.

Who are the characters in The Proud King?

The poem has one main character, King Jovinian, and several minor characters who fail to recognise him.

How does King Jovinian show his pride?

Jovinian shows his pride by praising his own fame and riches, looking down on his late father and declaring himself God.

• Self-praise: he wakes up and begins to praise his own fame and riches.
• Contempt for his father: he treats his father’s reign as inferior to his own.
• Insulting words: he describes his father’s kingdom as the ‘Kernel of my dogs’.
• Belittling his father: he calls his late father a ‘prince of narrow lands’.
• Boast of greatness: he promises to ‘Rise higher’ than his father, who he says would ‘like poor wretches die’.
• Rejection of religion: he says, ‘What need do I have for temple or for the priest, /Am I not God while that I live at least’.
• Claim to be God: he repeats, ‘I am God myself.’

What happens on the hunting trip?

On the hunting trip, Jovinian leaves his royal clothes by a river and a stranger carries them away.

1. The next day Jovinian wakes up and decides to go hunting.
2. He says, ‘To-day through green woods we will run’ and ‘I … intend to make it better for game and play’.
3. He puts on his best attire and rides with a heart ‘right well at ease’.
4. Deep-chested hounds go with him in ‘the hottest of sun/When all the freshness of the day was done.’
5. At a river, he sits ‘in the water and leisurely’ after leaving his royal clothes on his royal horse.
6. A strange individual carts away his ‘rich attire’ without his knowledge.
7. Jovinian threatens to deal ruthlessly with the unseen thief.
8. He grows tired of shouting in that lonely place, stops and decides what to do next.

How is Jovinian rejected after losing his clothes?

Jovinian is rejected at the ranger’s house, on the road, before Duke Peters and at the palace, because nobody recognises him without his royal clothes.

At the ranger’s house

• The house: Jovinian sees the house of a nearby ranger beyond the stream.
• His expectation: naked, he approaches the metallic gate and expects to be treated as king.
• The gatekeeper: he does not give Jovinian kingly respect, even when Jovinian vehemently asks to see the lord of the house.
• The master: the gatekeeper reluctantly brings Jovinian in, but the master also fails to recognise him.
• The offer: the master asks that Jovinian be given food and clothes.
• The result: Jovinian leaves angrily and finds himself on the street again, realising that someone else sits on the throne.

On the road and before Duke Peters

• Distress: Jovinian thinks his lords have betrayed him and lies dejectedly on roadsides.
• The procession: at night he sees flashes of light, and a lord is carried aloft by bearers, with soldiers.
• The curses: he rains curses on the duke to get his attention.
• His appeal: he asks, ‘Who gave thee all thy riches and thy place/Well if thou canst, deny me, with such grace… Peter swore of old….’
• The duke’s reaction: Duke Peters cannot recognise him and thinks he is a madman.

At the palace

• The cart owner: at daybreak, a cart owner helps Jovinian get to the palace.
• The gates: he sneaks past the first gate but is caught at the second.
• The soldiers: men who once served him as king arrest him, and he screams that he is king.
• Before the sitting king: the sitting king asks for him. Jovinian tells the king, the queen and the lords that he is King Jovinian.
• The queen: she does not recognise him, to his amazement.
• The result: Jovinian is driven mad by disbelief, is thrown out of the palace and is warned not to return.

How is Jovinian restored?

Jovinian is restored after he cries to God before an old priest and then returns to the palace.

1. Jovinian remembers the house of an old priest he last visited when he newly became king.
2. The priest at first does not recognise him.
3. Jovinian begins to cry to God.
4. The priest apologises for not recognising him.
5. The priest gives him clothing and a horse to return to the palace.
6. Jovinian returns, though doubtful, and the servants and soldiers recognise him as king.
7. As he goes into his room, a servant draws his attention to his wife, and he finds her asleep.
8. Still amazed, he is met by the angelic figure that had sat on his throne.

What lesson does the poem teach?

The poem teaches that pride is dangerous and that humility is needed, because everything a person achieves is allowed by God.

• The warning: the angelic figure tells Jovinian never to become proud again.
• The reminder: whatever Jovinian has achieved is because God allowed it.
• The change: Jovinian becomes very humble towards his lord and his people.
• The moral: God resists the proud.

What are the themes of The Proud King?

A theme is the main idea a poem explores, and the main theme here is the danger of pride and the need for humility.

• Pride and its fall: Jovinian’s boast of being God leads to his loss of status.
• Humility: Jovinian is restored only after he turns to God.
• The power of God: God removes and restores the king’s position.
• Power and appearance: without royal clothes, nobody recognises Jovinian as king.

What literary devices appear in The Proud King?

Literary devices are the techniques a poet uses to present ideas, and this poem uses repetition, irony and direct speech.

• Repetition: ‘I am God myself’ repeats the king’s pride.
• Irony: the king who claims to be God cannot make a gatekeeper, a duke or his own queen recognise him.
• Direct speech: the king’s own words, such as his boasts and his appeal to Duke Peters, show his character.
• Contrast: the proud, boasting king at the start differs from the humble king at the end.

Evaluation

1. Which two older stories does The Proud King resemble?
2. Quote or describe two ways in which Jovinian shows pride at the start of the poem.
3. What happens to Jovinian’s clothes at the river?
4. List the people who fail to recognise Jovinian as king.
5. What does the angelic figure tell Jovinian at the end?

Assignment

In your own words, write a short paragraph on how Jovinian changes between the beginning and the end of the poem.