Those who give to the poor will lack

nothing, but those who close their

eyes to them receive many curses.

Prov: 28:27
 Thought Provoking

• What is your opinion about Beggars?

• Helping them Right/wrong?

• Difference between Beggars and homeless.

Difference between Beggars and Homeless
 Route Map for the Day
• Author Introduction
• Introduction to One Act Play
• Genre
• Characters
• Setting
• Summary
• Theme
• Diction
• Irony
• Figures of Speech
 Author Introduction
 Winthrop Parkhurst

 October15,1891-September1983)

 Has been criticized for his Bohemian outlook on life and

appreciated for his sympathy for the oppressed.

 His plays are full of subtle wit and humor.

 The play “The Beggar and The King” is from The Atlantic
Book of Modern Plays
 INTRODUCTION TO ONE ACT
PLAY
 THE BEGGAR AND THE KING is a one-act play written by Winthrop
Parkhurst

 A One act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur
over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes.

 Some common characteristics of most one-act plays are

 They are written in a concise manner, there are no breaks in the action.

 They have fewer characters than a full-length play.

 Genre
 Historical Fiction
 A work with a historical setting including
fictitious characters functioning in a manner
befitting to the era.
 The play takes place in the Middle Ages. Also,
the story contains characters such as kings and
servants.
 SETTING
ervant to torture
 King’s Castle

but the servant

 The speaker in the story is the King, the servant and the
beggar who speak mainly through dialogue.

ve tortured and
 They reflect the theme and move of the story.
 Summary

 The story starts with the King complaining about the noise of a beggar
outside his window. This irritates the king because the beggar has been
visiting the castle each day to beg for food.

 The king tells his servant to torture and kill the beggar, but the servant
replies that they have tortured and killed the beggar but he continues to
return.

 The King asks to see the beggar in his chamber. Once in his presence,
the King demands the beggar to bow to him but the beggar refuses.
 Summary

 Instead, the beggar demands that the King remove his crown and
throw it into the streets.

 When the King refuses, the beggar tells him that his voice will haunt
him and his nights will be full of horrors.

 The King then orders the beggar to be seized, but as the beggar walks
out, none of the King’s servants can move.
 Summary

 The beggar leaves and continues crying

for bread,
 While the King is left to think about the
decision to throw away his crown.
Inspiring Attitude of a Homeless Man
 Theme

Pride leads to the down

fall of man
 Pride Leads to the Down Fall of
Man

 “I have commanded thee not to beg anymore, for the sound of thy voice
is grievous unto my ears, touch thy forehead now to the floor…Refuse,
and thou wilt be sorry…”
-King

 The king threatens the beggar that if he does not stop, he will be
punished.
 Pride Leads to the Down Fall of
Man
 “Now therefore do I likewise command thee to remove thy crown
from thy forehead and throw it from yonder window into the street.
For when thou hast thrown thy crown into the street, then will I no
longer be obliged to beg.”
–Beggar

 The beggar told the king that he will stop begging if only the king
will throw the crown to the street.
 Pride Leads to the Down Fall of
Man
 “ Thou commandest me Thou, a beggar from the streets, commandest
me, asking, to remove my crown from my forehead and throw it from
yonder window into the street ”
-King

 The King clearly doesn’t Want to remove his crown because it is

symbol of his power.
 “No To feed a beggar is always foolish. Every crumb that is given to a beggar is an evil seed from
which springs another fellow like him.” -King

 Foolishly, the wicked king refuses to satisfy the beggar's hunger, citing that aiding him essentially
breeds more unproductive members of society.

 “Perhaps, it were wise to humor him, O king. After thou has thrown thy crown away I can go outside
and bring it to thee again.” -Servant

 “No I will not throw my crown from that window… Shall I obey the orders of a beggar? Never ”-
King

 The kings shows that he simply does now want to take orders from a beggar, and his arrogance causes
 Pride Leads to the Down Fall of
Man
 “I will only cry aloud in the streets for bread wherewith to fill my belly. But one
day I will not be so kind to thee.”
“On that day my mouth will be filled with a rushing wind and my arms will
become as strong as steel rods.”
-Beggar

 The beggar warns the king that one day he will recall the noble's lack of
compassion and complement the act with cruelty of his own.
 Theme
Morality and Compassion towards the Poor and Lowly is paramount, for it
is unknown when oneself will depend on the charity of others.

"This fellow is exceedingly hungry. Dost thou not command me to fling him just one
small crust from the window?“
-Servant

 Further more, the servant's willingness to aid the beggar underscores the
wickedness of the King and the moral aptitude of the common man.
 Diction
 The play follows chronological order and does not include
flashbacks, dreams, or futuristic occurrences.

 The dialect in the story reflects the time period. The

story’s Time period is never described, but we assume it
was during Middle Ages when castles and kings were
common.
 IRONY

It is ironic that the king is made

powerless to the beggar.
 CROWN

Symbolizes the King’s authority and power.

Also represents the King’s pride and

arrogance, which in the end he refuses to
throw away.
 BREAD
Represents compassion.
The servant asks the king to
feed the bread to the beggar,
but the king prevents him from
doing so.
 “The spears of thy soldiers are as straws against my body.”
“My arms will become as strong as steel rods."
Simile

“With one breath of my mouth I can blow over this whole palace.”
"All the bones in thy foolish body I will snap between my fingers"
FIGURES
OF Hyperbole
SPEECH

“Every crumb that is given to a beggar is an evil seed.”

Metaphor

“Ha, ha, ha “
Onomatopoeia
Act of Kindness
 Summing up
• Thought Provoking
• Author Introduction
• Introduction to One Act Play
• Genre
• Characters
• Setting
• Summary
• Theme- Pride leads to downfall of man/ Morality and Compassion towards the Poor and Lowly
is paramount, for it is unknown when oneself will depend on the charity of others.
• Diction
• Irony
• Symbolism - Crown/ Bread

• Figures of Speech - Simile, Hyperbole, Metaphor, Onomatopoeia

 ACTIVITY:
Give your opinion about the following questions and justify your answers by
explaining it in 2-3 sentences.
1.Do you think that the theme of ‘The Beggar and the King” Is still relevant today?
Why or why not?
2.Do you agree with the Anti Mendicancy Law, which prohibits begging and giving to
beggars? Cant here be a good reason for such a law?
3.If it is illegal to give alms to beggars, what can we do instead to help improve their
situation?