ABSTRACT
Elders worked diligently to suppress the concerns by clinging to the powerful fantasy cultivated by 2 Henry IV and advice books that a parent's timely instruction could transform even the most wayward young person into an ideal subordinate. The politics of the texts is best understood by first taking into account the nature of elders' concerns about young people like Prince Hal and his offstage counterparts and the perceived power of dying men and women. Older people commonly believed that no two generations could hold power at one time. Thus, they saw keeping the young from pursuing their ambitions as central to their self-preservation. Theorizing and offering practical instruction, many texts advised parents how to advise, when to advice, and what to advice. Uniting the power of the deathbed and the ability to speak from beyond the grave could make a parent a god: absolute, all-powerful, and eternal.
