want → want, wanting – the verb of lack and need, and the noun of poverty: I shall not want; weighed in the balances, and found wanting
What does "want" mean in Elizabethan English, in "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want", "thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting" or King Richard’s "I live with bread like you, feel want"?
The word is want. It is spelled as we spell it now, and it is the same word, but its meaning has moved. The modern reader hears "want" as "wish for, desire". The Elizabethan reader heard first "lack, be without, be short of". I shall not want (Psalm 23:1) does not mean "I shall have no wishes". It means "I shall lack nothing".
This is the most important thing to learn about the word, because the modern meaning nearly always makes some kind of sense, and so the reader does not notice the mistake. She wanted courage reads as a wish for courage; it says that she had none. I want nothing sounds like contentment; it is a plain statement that the speaker lacks nothing.
Want is first a verb. It takes an object, the thing that is missing: If for I want that glib and oily art (King Lear), "if, because I lack that smooth and slippery skill". It also stands alone, meaning "be in need, go short": I shall not want.
The participle wanting is used as an adjective, "lacking, falling short, deficient": art found wanting (Daniel 5:27), "you have been found too light".
Want is also a noun, and the noun means "lack" or "need", and very often "poverty": thy want as an armed man (Proverbs 6:11); for want of that for which I am richer (King Lear); feel want (Richard II).
Where Elizabethan English wished to say "desire", it used other words: would (What wouldst thou?), will, desire, fain ("gladly"), and list ("it pleases"). These belong to other lessons, but the learner should keep them in mind: when a speaker of the period desires a thing, he seldom says want.
Etymology: want is a loan from Old Norse, the language of the Viking settlers of northern and eastern England. The Old Norse verb vanta meant "to lack, be missing". It came into English about 1200 with that meaning, and the sense "lack" led to "need", and "need" at last to "desire". The sense "wish for, desire" is recorded from the early eighteenth century, about a hundred years after Shakespeare and the King James Bible.
FAQ: What does "want" mean in Elizabethan English?
Q: Does "I shall not want" mean "I shall desire nothing"? A: No. It means "I shall lack nothing, I shall never be in need". The shepherd provides everything.
Q: What does "found wanting" mean? A: "Found to fall short, found deficient". In Daniel 5:27 the king is weighed, as on a pair of scales, and is too light.
Q: Did Shakespeare ever use "want" to mean "desire"? A: Not as the ordinary meaning. In his plays and in the King James Bible want means "lack" or "need", and the reader should always try that sense first.
Q: What is a "want-wit"? A: A person who lacks wit, a fool. Antonio says that sadness makes such a want-wit of him that he hardly knows himself.
Key Takeaways
✦ Want means "lack, be without": She wanted courage = she had no courage
✦ Used alone it means "be in need": I shall not want
✦ Wanting is "lacking, deficient": weighed in the balances, and art found wanting
✦ The noun want is "lack, need, poverty": for want of, thy want, feel want
✦ The sense "desire" is later; for desire the period says would, will, desire, fain
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This course follows the reconstructed Original Pronunciation of David Crystal and his collaborators.
want /wænt/ — one syllable, with the short open vowel of "hath" /hæθ/ and "hand", not the rounded vowel of modern Standard English "want" /wɒnt/. The rounding of a after w, which gave the modern sound, came later. The plays give the evidence: in King Lear Goneril rhymes scanted with wanted in a closing couplet (Section A, 81.15).
wanteth /ˈwæntəθ/, wantest /ˈwæntəst/ — the endings -eth and -est are light, unstressed syllables.
wanted /ˈwæntɪd/, wanting /ˈwæntɪŋ/ — two syllables, stress on the first.
want-wit /ˈwæntwɪt/ — stress on the first part, as in most compounds.
I, my, thy, like, bread: I /əɪ/, my /məɪ/, thy /ðəɪ/, like /ləɪk/, with the central diphthong of the period; bread /brɛd/ as now.
poverty /ˈpɒvərti/, travelleth /ˈtrævələθ/ — the r is sounded wherever it is written.
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81.1a I I shall shall not not want lack
81.1b I /əɪ/ I-NOM.1SG shall /ʃæl/ shall-FUT not /nɒt/ not-NEG want /wænt/ lack-INF(be in need)
81.2a Art are found found wanting lacking
81.2b Art /ært/ are-2SG.PRES found /faʊnd/ found-PAST.PTCP wanting /ˈwæntɪŋ/ lacking-PTCP.ADJ(deficient)
81.3a Thou you wantest lack wit sense
81.3b Thou /ðaʊ/ you-NOM.2SG.FAM wantest /ˈwæntəst/ lack-2SG.PRES wit /wɪt/ sense-SG
81.4a He he wanteth lacks money money
81.4b He /hiː/ he-NOM.3SG wanteth /ˈwæntəθ/ lacks-3SG.PRES money /ˈmʊni/ money-SG
81.5a Want need makes makes thieves thieves
81.5b Want /wænt/ need-N.SG(poverty) makes /meɪks/ makes-3SG.PRES thieves /θiːvz/ thief-PL
81.6a Our our supper supper wanteth lacks nothing nothing but but salt salt
81.6b Our /aʊr/ our-POSS.1PL supper /ˈsʊpər/ supper-SG wanteth /ˈwæntəθ/ lacks-3SG.PRES nothing /ˈnʊθɪŋ/ nothing-PRON but /bʊt/ except-PREP salt /sɔːlt/ salt-SG
81.7a She she wanted lacked courage courage to to speak speak her her mind mind
81.7b She /ʃiː/ she-NOM.3SG wanted /ˈwæntɪd/ lacked-PAST courage /ˈkʊrɪdʒ/ courage-SG to /tuː/ to-INF speak /spiːk/ speak-INF her /hɜːr/ her-POSS.3SG.F mind /məɪnd/ mind-SG
81.8a The the horse horse died died for for want lack of of water water
81.8b The /ðə/ the horse /hɔːrs/ horse-SG died /dəɪd/ died-PAST for /fɔːr/ for-PREP(because-of) want /wænt/ lack-N.SG of /ɒv/ of-PREP water /ˈwɔːtər/ water-SG
81.9a If if thou you want lack money money come come to to me me
81.9b If /ɪf/ if-CONJ thou /ðaʊ/ you-NOM.2SG.FAM want /wænt/ lack-SUBJ.2SG money /ˈmʊni/ money-SG come /kʊm/ come-IMP to /tuː/ to-PREP me /miː/ me-ACC.1SG
81.10a And and such such a a want-wit fool sadness sadness makes makes of of me me
81.10b And /ænd/ and-CONJ such /sʊtʃ/ such-DET a /ə/ a want-wit /ˈwæntwɪt/ lack-sense-N.SG(fool) sadness /ˈsædnəs/ sadness-SG makes /meɪks/ makes-3SG.PRES of /ɒv/ of-PREP me /miː/ me-ACC.1SG
81.11a Thou you art are weighed weighed in in the the balances scales and and art are found found wanting lacking
81.11b Thou /ðaʊ/ you-NOM.2SG.FAM art /ært/ are-2SG.PRES weighed /weɪd/ weighed-PAST.PTCP in /ɪn/ in-PREP the /ðə/ the balances /ˈbælənsɪz/ scale-PL and /ænd/ and-CONJ art /ært/ are-2SG.PRES found /faʊnd/ found-PAST.PTCP wanting /ˈwæntɪŋ/ lacking-PTCP.ADJ(deficient)
81.12a They they that who seek seek the the LORD Lord shall shall not not want lack any any good good thing thing
81.12b They /ðeɪ/ they-NOM.3PL that /ðæt/ who-REL seek /siːk/ seek-3PL.PRES the /ðə/ the LORD /lɔːrd/ Lord-NAME shall /ʃæl/ shall-FUT not /nɒt/ not-NEG want /wænt/ lack-INF any /ˈɛni/ any-DET good /gʊd/ good-ADJ thing /θɪŋ/ thing-SG
81.13a So so shall shall thy your poverty poverty come come as as one one that who travelleth travels and and thy your want need as as an an armed armed man man
81.13b So /soː/ so-ADV shall /ʃæl/ shall-FUT thy /ðəɪ/ your-POSS.2SG.FAM poverty /ˈpɒvərti/ poverty-SG come /kʊm/ come-INF as /æz/ as-CONJ one /wʊn/ one-PRON that /ðæt/ who-REL travelleth /ˈtrævələθ/ travels-3SG.PRES and /ænd/ and-CONJ thy /ðəɪ/ your-POSS.2SG.FAM want /wænt/ need-N.SG(poverty) as /æz/ as-CONJ an /æn/ an armed /ˈɑːrmɪd/ armed-ADJ man /mæn/ man-SG
81.14a If if for because I I want lack that that glib glib and and oily oily art skill to to speak speak and and purpose intend not not
81.14b If /ɪf/ if-CONJ for /fɔːr/ because-CONJ I /əɪ/ I-NOM.1SG want /wænt/ lack-1SG.PRES that /ðæt/ that-DEM glib /glɪb/ smooth-ADJ and /ænd/ and-CONJ oily /ˈɔɪli/ oily-ADJ(slippery) art /ært/ skill-SG to /tuː/ to-INF speak /spiːk/ speak-INF and /ænd/ and-CONJ purpose /ˈpɜːrpəs/ intend-INF not /nɒt/ not-NEG
81.15a You you have have obedience obedience scanted stinted and and well well are are worth worthy-of the the want lack that that you you have have wanted lacked
81.15b You /juː/ you-NOM.2.POL have /hæv/ have-2PL.PRES.AUX obedience /oːˈbiːdɪəns/ obedience-SG scanted /ˈskæntɪd/ stinted-PAST.PTCP and /ænd/ and-CONJ well /wɛl/ well-ADV are /ɑːr/ are-2PL.PRES worth /wɜːrθ/ deserving-ADJ the /ðə/ the want /wænt/ lack-N.SG that /ðæt/ that-REL you /juː/ you-NOM.2.POL have /hæv/ have-2PL.PRES.AUX wanted /ˈwæntɪd/ lacked-PAST.PTCP
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81.1 I shall not want. → "I shall lack nothing." (Psalm 23:1, King James Bible)
81.2 Art found wanting. → "You are found to fall short." (Daniel 5:27, King James Bible)
81.3 Thou wantest wit. → "You have no sense."
81.4 He wanteth money. → "He is short of money."
81.5 Want makes thieves. → "Poverty makes men thieves."
81.6 Our supper wanteth nothing but salt. → "Our supper lacks nothing but salt."
81.7 She wanted courage to speak her mind. → "She lacked the courage to say what she thought."
81.8 The horse died for want of water. → "The horse died for lack of water."
81.9 If thou want money, come to me. → "If you are short of money, come to me."
81.10 And such a want-wit sadness makes of me. → "And sadness makes me such a fool." (Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, I.i)
81.11 Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. → "You have been weighed on the scales and found too light." (Daniel 5:27, King James Bible)
81.12 They that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. → "Those who seek the Lord shall lack no good thing." (Psalm 34:10, King James Bible)
81.13 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. → "So your poverty will come on you like a traveller on the road, and your need like an armed man." (Proverbs 6:11, King James Bible)
81.14 If for I want that glib and oily art, to speak and purpose not. → "If it is because I lack that smooth and slippery skill of speaking without meaning it." (Shakespeare, King Lear, I.i)
81.15 You have obedience scanted, and well are worth the want that you have wanted. → "You have been sparing of obedience, and you well deserve to lack the love that you yourself have failed to give." (Shakespeare, King Lear, I.i)
Examples 81.3–81.9 are constructed for teaching, from vocabulary and patterns of the period; they are not quotations.
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81.1 I shall not want.
81.2 Art found wanting.
81.3 Thou wantest wit.
81.4 He wanteth money.
81.5 Want makes thieves.
81.6 Our supper wanteth nothing but salt.
81.7 She wanted courage to speak her mind.
81.8 The horse died for want of water.
81.9 If thou want money, come to me.
81.10 And such a want-wit sadness makes of me.
81.11 Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
81.12 They that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
81.13 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
81.14 If for I want that glib and oily art, to speak and purpose not.
81.15 You have obedience scanted, and well are worth the want that you have wanted.
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These are the grammar rules for want in Elizabethan English:
1. The Forms of the Verb
Want is a regular verb. Its present tense has the endings of the period:
I want · thou wantest · he, she, it wanteth (or wants) · we want · ye want · they want
The past tense and past participle are wanted; the present participle is wanting; the second person singular of the past is thou wantedst. The King James Bible prefers wanteth; the plays use both wanteth and wants. In 81.4 and 81.6 the -eth form is used; in 81.5 the -s form, as in a proverb.
2. Want with an Object: "Lack"
With an object, want says what is missing: He wanteth money (81.4), She wanted courage (81.7), I want that glib and oily art (81.14), shall not want any good thing (81.12). Translate it "lack, be without, be short of". The object is the thing that is absent, not a thing that is wished for.
3. Want Alone: "Be in Need"
Without an object, want means "be in need, go short": I shall not want (81.1). The thing lacked is not named because it is everything: the speaker will lack nothing at all.
4. Wanting: "Lacking, Deficient"
The present participle wanting stands after be or find as an adjective: art found wanting (81.2, 81.11), "found deficient". It can also mean simply "absent, missing", as when a thing is wanting from a set.
5. The Noun Want: "Lack, Need, Poverty"
Want as a noun is the state of lacking, and very often poverty itself:
for want of "for lack of, because there is no": for want of water (81.8); for want of that for which I am richer (King Lear, I.i)
thy want "your need, your poverty", set beside thy poverty: thy want as an armed man (81.13)
feel want "suffer need": I live with bread like you, feel want (Section F)
Want alone as subject: Want makes thieves (81.5).
6. Want in a Wordplay: Goneril’s Couplet
In 81.15 the noun and the verb stand side by side: the want that you have wanted. Cordelia wanted (lacked, failed to give) the show of love her father asked for; now she will have the want (the lack) of his love in return. The verb is a past participle after have; the noun is the object of worth, "deserving". Scanted "stinted, given too little of" is a near synonym of wanted, and the two words rhyme.
7. The Compound want-wit
Want joins a noun to make a word for a person who lacks the thing: want-wit "one who lacks wit, a fool" (81.10). The first part is the verb, the second its object: "one who wants wit".
8. If thou want: the Subjunctive
After if, the period often uses the subjunctive, the plain stem with no ending: If thou want money (81.9), not "if thou wantest". This marks the condition as open, "should you be short of money".
9. How the Period Says "Desire"
The sense "wish for, desire" is not yet the ordinary meaning of want. For desire the period uses:
would: What wouldst thou? "What do you want?"
will: I will have it so "I want it so"
desire: I desire thy company "I want your company"
fain: I would fain know "I would gladly know, I want to know"
(These four are given as patterns for teaching; the verbs belong to later lessons.)
Common Mistakes
✦ Reading I shall not want as "I shall have no desires". It means "I shall lack nothing" (81.1).
✦ Reading She wanted courage as a wish. It says that she had none (81.7).
✦ Reading found wanting as "found desiring". It means "found deficient" (81.2, 81.11).
✦ Missing the noun: in thy want as an armed man (81.13) want is a noun, "your need, your poverty".
✦ Saying want with the modern rounded vowel /wɒnt/. In Original Pronunciation it is /wænt/ and rhymes with scant.
✦ Writing "if thou wantest" where the period would use the subjunctive if thou want (81.9). Both occur, but the subjunctive is common in a condition.
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Frequency and Register
Want is a common word in every register of the period, from Scripture to the tavern. Because its meaning was "lack", it belongs naturally to the language of poverty, hunger and hardship, and to the language of moral judgement: a man may want wit, courage, honesty or grace.
The King James Bible
The translators of 1611 use want in its old sense throughout, and some of the best-known sentences in English turn on it. The Twenty-third Psalm opens The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Modern readers often take the second clause as a promise that the soul will be free of desire; the translators meant that the sheep of this shepherd will never go short. Psalm 34:10 sets the two verbs of lack together: The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
In Daniel 5 the hand writes on the wall at Belshazzar’s feast, and Daniel reads the word Tekel as Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. "Weighed and found wanting" has passed into the language as a phrase for any person or thing that has been tested and has failed.
In Proverbs 6:11 the sluggard is warned that thy poverty will come upon him as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man: need arrives like a robber on the road. And in Philippians 4:11 Paul writes Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Here want is the plain noun "need".
The Theatre
The opening scene of King Lear is built on the word. Cordelia refuses to flatter her father, and asks him to make known that she has lost his favour for want of that for which I am richer: she lacks only the flatterer’s tongue, and is the richer for lacking it. Goneril answers her with the rhyming couplet of 81.15, and the play then shows Lear himself coming to want everything he had.
In Macbeth (III.vi) Lennox asks Who cannot want the thought how monstrous / It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain / To kill their gracious father? He means "who can be without the thought", that is, who can fail to think it. Lennox is speaking in irony, and he does not believe it.
The Merchant of Venice opens with Antonio’s melancholy: such a want-wit sadness makes of me, / That I have much ado to know myself.
From Old Norse to Shakespeare
Want is one of the Old Norse words that entered English from the Danelaw, alongside sky, skin, egg and they. It came in about 1200 with its Norse meaning, "lack". The long history of the word is a movement from absence to desire: what one lacks, one needs; what one needs, one wishes for. Shakespeare and the translators stand near the beginning of that movement, where the word still meant the absence itself.
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William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act III, Scene ii (c. 1595). King Richard has landed on the coast of Wales on his return from Ireland. Messenger after messenger brings worse news: his Welsh army has scattered, Bolingbroke has the country, and Sir Stephen Scroop now tells him that Bushy, Green and the Earl of Wiltshire have been put to death at Bristol. Richard calls on his followers to sit upon the ground / And tell sad stories of the death of kings, and the speech ends in these lines, spoken to the lords who still stand bareheaded before him. The text follows the MIT Shakespeare (Globe) text; the Project Gutenberg text has the same words with slightly different punctuation.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Cover cover your your heads heads and and mock mock not not flesh flesh and and blood blood
F.1b Cover /ˈkʊvər/ cover-IMP your /juːr/ your-POSS.2.POL heads /hɛdz/ head-PL and /ænd/ and-CONJ mock /mɒk/ mock-IMP not /nɒt/ not-NEG flesh /flɛʃ/ flesh-SG and /ænd/ and-CONJ blood /blʊd/ blood-SG
F.2a With with solemn solemn reverence reverence throw throw away away respect respect
F.2b With /wɪθ/ with-PREP solemn /ˈsɒləm/ solemn-ADJ reverence /ˈrɛvərəns/ reverence-SG throw /θroː/ throw-IMP away /əˈweɪ/ away-ADV respect /rɪˈspɛkt/ respect-SG
F.3a Tradition tradition form form and and ceremonious ceremonious duty duty
F.3b Tradition /trəˈdɪsjən/ tradition-SG form /fɔːrm/ formality-SG and /ænd/ and-CONJ ceremonious /sɛrɪˈmoːnjəs/ ceremonious-ADJ duty /ˈdjuːti/ duty-SG
F.4a For for you you have have but only mistook mistaken me me all all this this while while
F.4b For /fɔːr/ for-CONJ you /juː/ you-NOM.2.POL have /hæv/ have-2PL.PRES.AUX but /bʊt/ only-ADV mistook /mɪsˈtʊk/ mistaken-PAST.PTCP me /miː/ me-ACC.1SG all /ɔːl/ all this /ðɪs/ this-DEM while /hwəɪl/ time-SG
F.5a I I live live with with bread bread like like you you feel feel want need
F.5b I /əɪ/ I-NOM.1SG live /lɪv/ live-1SG.PRES with /wɪθ/ with-PREP bread /brɛd/ bread-SG like /ləɪk/ like-PREP you /juː/ you-ACC.2.POL feel /fiːl/ feel-1SG.PRES want /wænt/ need-N.SG
F.6a Taste taste grief grief need need friends friends subjected made-a-subject thus thus
F.6b Taste /teɪst/ taste-1SG.PRES grief /griːf/ grief-SG need /niːd/ need-1SG.PRES friends /frɛndz/ friend-PL subjected /sʊbˈdʒɛktɪd/ subject-PAST.PTCP(made subject to these) thus /ðʊs/ thus-ADV
F.7a How how can can you you say say to to me me I I am am a a king king
F.7b How /haʊ/ how-ADV can /kæn/ can-2PL.PRES you /juː/ you-NOM.2.POL say /seɪ/ say-INF to /tuː/ to-PREP me /miː/ me-ACC.1SG I /əɪ/ I-NOM.1SG am /æm/ am-1SG.PRES a /ə/ a king /kɪŋ/ king-SG
F-B: Full Text with Translation
Cover your heads and mock not flesh and blood With solemn reverence: throw away respect, Tradition, form and ceremonious duty, For you have but mistook me all this while: I live with bread like you, feel want, Taste grief, need friends: subjected thus, How can you say to me, I am a king?
→ "Put your hats back on, and do not mock a man of flesh and blood with solemn reverence; throw away respect, tradition, formality and ceremonious duty, for you have been mistaken about me all this time. I live on bread as you do, I feel need, I taste grief, I need friends: subject as I am to all these things, how can you tell me that I am a king?"
— William Shakespeare, Richard II, III.ii
F-C: Original Text Only
Cover your heads and mock not flesh and blood With solemn reverence: throw away respect, Tradition, form and ceremonious duty, For you have but mistook me all this while: I live with bread like you, feel want, Taste grief, need friends: subjected thus, How can you say to me, I am a king?
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
feel want: want is the noun, "need, privation", the object of feel. It stands in a list of four things that every man suffers: live with bread, feel want, taste grief, need friends. The king claims no more than the common lot.
want… need: the two words lie side by side, and they are near synonyms in the period. The noun want is the state of lacking; the verb need is to be in that state with regard to something, here friends. This is rule 5 of Section D.
Cover your heads: the lords stand bareheaded in the king’s presence, as courtesy required. Richard tells them to put their hats back on, because the reverence is a mockery of a man who is only flesh and blood.
mistook: the past participle of mistake. The period often uses the old past tense form as the participle: have mistook for "have mistaken".
subjected thus: "made a subject in this way". The word is a pun. A king has subjects; Richard is now himself subject to hunger, grief and need, as his people are.
I am a king: the speech closes on the title that the whole scene has put in doubt. Both texts consulted print it as a question: the king asks how anyone can still call him one.
The metre: the speech is blank verse, unrhymed lines of ten syllables. I live with bread like you, feel want has only eight, and Taste grief, need friends: subjected thus has eight also. The lines are short and stressed, and the strong monosyllables (bread, want, grief, friends) slow the speaker down.
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A short story of a village in a hard winter, told in the plain narrative style of the period, in which a rich farmer learns what the word want means. (A constructed narrative for teaching, not a quotation.)
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
81.16a The the winter winter was was long long and and want need came came into into every every house house in in the the village village
81.16b The /ðə/ the winter /ˈwɪntər/ winter-SG was /wæz/ was-3SG.PAST long /lɒŋ/ long-ADJ and /ænd/ and-CONJ want /wænt/ need-N.SG(poverty) came /keɪm/ came-PAST into /ˈɪntuː/ into-PREP every /ˈɛvri/ every-DET house /haʊs/ house-SG in /ɪn/ in-PREP the /ðə/ the village /ˈvɪlɪdʒ/ village-SG
81.17a The the miller miller wanted lacked corn grain for for the the summer summer had had been been wet wet
81.17b The /ðə/ the miller /ˈmɪlər/ miller-SG wanted /ˈwæntɪd/ lacked-PAST corn /kɔːrn/ grain-SG for /fɔːr/ for-CONJ(because) the /ðə/ the summer /ˈsʊmər/ summer-SG had /hæd/ had-PAST.AUX been /biːn/ been-PAST.PTCP wet /wɛt/ wet-ADJ
81.18a A a poor poor widow widow wanted lacked bread bread for for her her children children
81.18b A /ə/ a poor /puːr/ poor-ADJ widow /ˈwɪdoː/ widow-SG wanted /ˈwæntɪd/ lacked-PAST bread /brɛd/ bread-SG for /fɔːr/ for-PREP her /hɜːr/ her-POSS.3SG.F children /ˈtʃɪldrən/ child-PL
81.19a Her her children children wept wept for for want lack of of food food and and fire fire
81.19b Her /hɜːr/ her-POSS.3SG.F children /ˈtʃɪldrən/ child-PL wept /wɛpt/ wept-PAST for /fɔːr/ for-PREP(because-of) want /wænt/ lack-N.SG of /ɒv/ of-PREP food /fuːd/ food-SG and /ænd/ and-CONJ fire /fəɪr/ fire-SG
81.20a The the parson parson said said Ye you shall shall not not want lack for for God God is is good good
81.20b The /ðə/ the parson /ˈpɑːrsən/ parson-SG said /sɛd/ said-PAST Ye /jiː/ you-NOM.2PL shall /ʃæl/ shall-FUT not /nɒt/ not-NEG want /wænt/ lack-INF(be in need) for /fɔːr/ for-CONJ(because) God /gɒd/ God-NAME is /ɪz/ is-3SG.PRES good /gʊd/ good-ADJ
81.21a He he went went from from door door to to door door to to learn learn who who wanted lacked most most
81.21b He /hiː/ he-NOM.3SG went /wɛnt/ went-PAST from /frɒm/ from-PREP door /doːr/ door-SG to /tuː/ to-PREP door /doːr/ door-SG to /tuː/ to-INF learn /lɛːrn/ learn-INF who /huː/ who-INTERR wanted /ˈwæntɪd/ lacked-PAST(was in need) most /moːst/ most-ADV
81.22a A a rich rich farmer farmer had had barns barns full full of of corn grain yet yet he he wanted lacked pity pity
81.22b A /ə/ a rich /rɪtʃ/ rich-ADJ farmer /ˈfɑːrmər/ farmer-SG had /hæd/ had-PAST barns /bɑːrnz/ barn-PL full /fʊl/ full-ADJ of /ɒv/ of-PREP corn /kɔːrn/ grain-SG yet /jɛt/ yet-CONJ he /hiː/ he-NOM.3SG wanted /ˈwæntɪd/ lacked-PAST pity /ˈpɪti/ pity-SG
81.23a I I want lack nothing nothing said said he he why why should should I I give give
81.23b I /əɪ/ I-NOM.1SG want /wænt/ lack-1SG.PRES nothing /ˈnʊθɪŋ/ nothing-PRON said /sɛd/ said-PAST he /hiː/ he-NOM.3SG why /hwəɪ/ why-INTERR should /ʃʊd/ should-MOD I /əɪ/ I-NOM.1SG give /gɪv/ give-INF
81.24a The the parson parson answered answered Thou you wantest lack nothing nothing but but charity charity
81.24b The /ðə/ the parson /ˈpɑːrsən/ parson-SG answered /ˈænsərd/ answered-PAST Thou /ðaʊ/ you-NOM.2SG.FAM wantest /ˈwæntəst/ lack-2SG.PRES nothing /ˈnʊθɪŋ/ nothing-PRON but /bʊt/ except-PREP charity /ˈtʃærɪti/ charity-SG(love)
81.25a And and he he that who wanteth lacks charity charity wanteth lacks all all
81.25b And /ænd/ and-CONJ he /hiː/ he-NOM.3SG that /ðæt/ who-REL wanteth /ˈwæntəθ/ lacks-3SG.PRES charity /ˈtʃærɪti/ charity-SG(love) wanteth /ˈwæntəθ/ lacks-3SG.PRES all /ɔːl/ all-PRON
81.26a The the farmer farmer was was ashamed ashamed for for he he knew knew himself himself found found wanting lacking
81.26b The /ðə/ the farmer /ˈfɑːrmər/ farmer-SG was /wæz/ was-3SG.PAST ashamed /əˈʃeɪmd/ ashamed-ADJ for /fɔːr/ for-CONJ(because) he /hiː/ he-NOM.3SG knew /njuː/ knew-PAST himself /hɪmˈsɛlf/ himself-REFL.3SG.M found /faʊnd/ found-PAST.PTCP wanting /ˈwæntɪŋ/ lacking-PTCP.ADJ(deficient)
81.27a The the next next morning morning he he sent sent corn grain to to all all that who wanted lacked
81.27b The /ðə/ the next /nɛkst/ next-ADJ morning /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/ morning-SG he /hiː/ he-NOM.3SG sent /sɛnt/ sent-PAST corn /kɔːrn/ grain-SG to /tuː/ to-PREP all /ɔːl/ all-PRON that /ðæt/ who-REL wanted /ˈwæntɪd/ lacked-PAST(were in need)
81.28a No no child child in in the the village village wanted lacked bread bread that that winter winter
81.28b No /noː/ no-DET child /tʃəɪld/ child-SG in /ɪn/ in-PREP the /ðə/ the village /ˈvɪlɪdʒ/ village-SG wanted /ˈwæntɪd/ lacked-PAST bread /brɛd/ bread-SG that /ðæt/ that-DEM winter /ˈwɪntər/ winter-SG
81.29a When when spring spring came came none none had had died died for for want lack
81.29b When /hwɛn/ when-CONJ spring /sprɪŋ/ spring-SG came /keɪm/ came-PAST none /nʊn/ none-PRON had /hæd/ had-PAST.AUX died /dəɪd/ died-PAST.PTCP for /fɔːr/ for-PREP(because-of) want /wænt/ need-N.SG(poverty)
81.30a And and ever ever after after the the farmer farmer let let no no neighbour neighbour want lack
81.30b And /ænd/ and-CONJ ever /ˈɛvər/ ever-ADV after /ˈæftər/ after-ADV the /ðə/ the farmer /ˈfɑːrmər/ farmer-SG let /lɛt/ let-PAST no /noː/ no-DET neighbour /ˈneɪbər/ neighbour-SG want /wænt/ lack-INF(be in need)
Part B: Natural Sentences
81.16 The winter was long, and want came into every house in the village. → "The winter was long, and poverty came into every house in the village."
81.17 The miller wanted corn, for the summer had been wet. → "The miller had no grain, because the summer had been wet."
81.18 A poor widow wanted bread for her children. → "A poor widow had no bread for her children."
81.19 Her children wept for want of food and fire. → "Her children cried for lack of food and warmth."
81.20 The parson said, "Ye shall not want, for God is good." → The parson said, "You shall not go short, for God is good."
81.21 He went from door to door to learn who wanted most. → "He went from door to door to find out who was in greatest need."
81.22 A rich farmer had barns full of corn, yet he wanted pity. → "A rich farmer had barns full of grain, but he had no pity."
81.23 "I want nothing," said he; "why should I give?" → "I lack nothing," he said; "why should I give?"
81.24 The parson answered, "Thou wantest nothing but charity." → The parson answered, "You lack nothing but love for your neighbour."
81.25 "And he that wanteth charity wanteth all." → "And a man who lacks love lacks everything."
81.26 The farmer was ashamed, for he knew himself found wanting. → "The farmer was ashamed, because he knew he had been found to fall short."
81.27 The next morning he sent corn to all that wanted. → "The next morning he sent grain to everyone in need."
81.28 No child in the village wanted bread that winter. → "No child in the village went without bread that winter."
81.29 When spring came, none had died for want. → "When spring came, no one had died of hunger and need."
81.30 And ever after, the farmer let no neighbour want. → "And from then on, the farmer let no neighbour go short."
Part C: Elizabethan Text Only
81.16 The winter was long, and want came into every house in the village.
81.17 The miller wanted corn, for the summer had been wet.
81.18 A poor widow wanted bread for her children.
81.19 Her children wept for want of food and fire.
81.20 The parson said, "Ye shall not want, for God is good."
81.21 He went from door to door to learn who wanted most.
81.22 A rich farmer had barns full of corn, yet he wanted pity.
81.23 "I want nothing," said he; "why should I give?"
81.24 The parson answered, "Thou wantest nothing but charity."
81.25 "And he that wanteth charity wanteth all."
81.26 The farmer was ashamed, for he knew himself found wanting.
81.27 The next morning he sent corn to all that wanted.
81.28 No child in the village wanted bread that winter.
81.29 When spring came, none had died for want.
81.30 And ever after, the farmer let no neighbour want.
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
The story uses every form of want in this lesson, and in every place it means "lack" or "need". A modern reader who puts in "desire" will misread most of it.
Want with an object, "lack": wanted corn (81.17), wanted bread (81.18, 81.28), wanted pity (81.22), want nothing (81.23), wantest nothing but charity (81.24), wanteth charity (81.25). The rich farmer’s I want nothing (81.23) is the trap of the story: he means "I lack nothing", and he is proud of it; the parson turns the same words against him.
Want alone, "be in need": Ye shall not want (81.20), an echo of Psalm 23:1; who wanted most (81.21), "who was in greatest need"; all that wanted (81.27); let no neighbour want (81.30). After let the verb is the bare infinitive.
The noun want: want came into every house (81.16), like Proverbs’ want as an armed man; for want of food and fire (81.19); died for want (81.29), with for "because of".
Wanting: he knew himself found wanting (81.26) echoes Daniel 5:27. Knew himself found means "knew that he was found".
Corn in the period means grain of any kind, especially wheat; it is not maize. Charity is the Bible’s word for love of one’s neighbour, as in 1 Corinthians 13.
Thou and ye: the parson says ye to the villagers (81.20), the plural, and thou to the farmer (81.24), the singular. A parson might use thou to a parishioner, and here it also carries his rebuke.
Verb forms: wantest (81.24) and wanteth (81.25) have the second and third person singular endings of the period; said he (81.23) puts the subject after the verb in reporting speech, as the period often did.
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want: /wænt/, with the unrounded vowel of hath and scant. The forms are wantest /ˈwæntəst/, wanteth /ˈwæntəθ/, wanted /ˈwæntɪd/, wanting /ˈwæntɪŋ/. Goneril’s couplet in King Lear (81.15), scanted… wanted, is the rhyme that shows the vowel.
Other vowels in this lesson: door /doːr/, throw /θroː/, so /soː/ and widow /ˈwɪdoː/ have the long pure /oː/ of Lesson 80; came /keɪm/, ashamed /əˈʃeɪmd/, neighbour /ˈneɪbər/ and taste /teɪst/ are written with /eɪ/, as in earlier lessons.
The -eth and -est endings: wanteth, travelleth, wantest are spoken with a light /əθ/ and /əst/.
wh-: while, when, why begin with /hw/, as in earlier lessons.
-tion and -ious: in Section F tradition /trəˈdɪsjən/ has three syllables and ceremonious /sɛrɪˈmoːnjəs/ four, the i gliding into the vowel after it; the line Tradition, form and ceremonious duty then has eleven syllables, a blank-verse line with an unstressed ending.
LORD in capitals: the King James Bible prints LORD in small capitals where the Hebrew has the divine name. The capitals are kept here in 81.12 and in Section E.
Spellings in the quotations: the King James Bible quotations keep the spellings of the standard modern printing of the 1611 text; the Shakespeare quotations follow the MIT (Globe) text, which prints want-wit with a hyphen and mistook for "mistaken".
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