Cophetua
ko-fet'u-a, King, in old English ballad, an African king. He disdains all womankind, but Cupid appears. "He drew a dart and shot at him." Cophetua then falls in love with a beggar maid, named Penelophon. He weds her and they live a long and happy life together. Shakespeare alludes to Cophetua several times. In Romeo and Juliet occurs the line, "When King Cophetua loved the beggar maid." Tennyson in The Beggar Maid has given a pretty, modernized version of the story.
Her arms across her breast she laid;
She was more fair than words can say:
Bare-footed came the beggar-maid
Before the king Cophetua.
She was more fair than words can say:
Bare-footed came the beggar-maid
Before the king Cophetua.
In robe and gown the king stept down,
To meet and greet her on her way;
"It is no wonder," said the lords,
"She is more beautiful than day."
To meet and greet her on her way;
"It is no wonder," said the lords,
"She is more beautiful than day."
As shines the moon in clouded skies,
She in her poor attire was seen:
One praised her ankles, one her eyes,
One her dark hair and lovesome mien.
She in her poor attire was seen:
One praised her ankles, one her eyes,
One her dark hair and lovesome mien.
So sweet a face, such angel grace,
In all that land had never been:
Cophetua sware a royal oath:
"This beggar maid shall be my queen!"
In all that land had never been:
Cophetua sware a royal oath:
"This beggar maid shall be my queen!"
Volume II · Aiton’s Encyclopedia