Palmerin Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 ... one of the more obscure kings of England--someone very short of the stature of MT's contemporaries, Victoria and Edward VII? If it weren't for THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER and its many adaptations and parodies, Edward VI would be of interest only to historians who specialize in the Tudor period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 ... one of the more obscure kings of England--someone very short of the stature of MT's contemporaries, Victoria and Edward VII? If it weren't for THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER and its many adaptations and parodies, Edward VI would be of interest only to historians who specialize in the Tudor period. The answer is simple, Palmerin. Twain used Edward VI for his story because of his being a child King, as Twain's story is about two children who masquerade as each other, right?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palmerin Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 The answer is simple, Palmerin. Twain used Edward VI for his story because of his being a child King, the Twain's story is about two children who masquerade as each other, right?! Plus the added tragedy that he did not live to adulthood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 The answer is simple, Palmerin. Twain used Edward VI for his story because of his being a child King, the Twain's story is about two children who masquerade as each other, right?! Well why didn't Twain write about Full House? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Well why didn't Twain write about Full House? Well, that sitcom's supposed locale was the city by the bay, wasn't it James? And so in a way maybe one COULD argue Twain once did. (...or don't you know of his famous saying: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" ?!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJ Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 The answer is simple, Palmerin. Twain used Edward VI for his story because of his being a child King, the Twain's story is about two children who masquerade as each other, right?! Twain, like Tom Sawyer, had a fascination with old medieval adventures (even wrote a story on Joan of Arc) Although he later used stories like "The Mysterious Stranger" or "A Connecticut Yankee" just to get off some of his snarky atheist-crank strawman satire-metaphors about everything wrong with stodgy undemocratic idiot society. It's pretty easy to tell we're reading a Twain story, in the scene where the Pauper, as the Prince, learns that he can't be whipped for not learning his lessons, and the Royal Whipping Boy has to be beaten instead. The Pauper wants to be nice, but his boy says "But my family's poor, I need the job!" So the Pauper decides to be nice and give him the post for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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