Two beggars, or one beggar addressing another, erupt into a wild plan to leave his life behind. The refrain “Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck” frames his speech as a half-crazed outburst, not sober planning. He longs for sea air, a comfortable wife, a house, and respectability, hoping to “make my soul” before old age. Yet each hope is dragged back to earth: he wants a wife to drive out “the devil” of sexual desire, but then admits she should not be too beautiful, because a looking-glass brings another devil, jealousy or vanity. Nor should she be rich, since the rich cannot laugh freely. The ending envisions peace in a garden, but the “wind-blown clamor of the barnacle-geese” keeps a wild, unsettling noise at the edge of that dream. The mood is comic, earthy, and a little desperate—ambition and appetite tug against the dream of ease.
Beggar to Beggar Cried — Summary
'Time to put off the world and go somewhere And find my health again in the sea air,' Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck, 'And make my soul before my pate is bare.'
'And get a comfortable wife and house To rid me of the devil in my shoes,' Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck, 'And the worse devil that is between my thighs.'
'And though I'd marry with a comely lass, She need not be too comely--let it pass,' Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck, 'But there's a devil in a looking-glass.'
'Nor should she be too rich, because the rich Are driven by wealth as beggars by the itch,' Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck, 'And cannot have a humorous happy speech.'
'And there I'll grow respected at my ease, And hear amid the garden's nightly peace,' Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck, 'The wind-blown clamor of the barnacle-geese.'