Henry V and Sophos

[frosted-feather.livejournal.com]

I'm a new member and this is my first post, but I've been following Sounis for more than a year now. I was just reading "Henry V" by Shakespeare and came across a lovely passage that perfectly mirrored Sopho's feelings about being a slave. King Henry is musing to himself on the heavy responsibility of being a king, and supposes that a slave's sleep is better than a king's:

..."Not all these, laid in bed majestical,

Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave

Who, with a body filled and vacant mind,

Gets him to rest, crammed with distressful bread;

Never sees horrid night, the child of hell,

But like a lackey from the rise to set

Sweats in the eye of Phoebus, and all night

Sleeps in Elysium; next day after dawn

Doth rise and help Hyperion to his horse,

And follows so the every-running year

With profitable labor to his grave." [4.1, lines 25-275]

Now, I think King Henry and Sophos have a very idealistic view of slavery. But this is something like what Sophos did experience as a slave. I was able to understand this passage immediately, having read "A Conspiracy of Kings" and thought about why Sophos seemed so content to remain a slave. But also this passage of Shakespeare's helps me understand Sophos even more. So it goes both ways!