Nobility: Innate or Attained?

           What is nobility? By definition, nobility is "the quality of being noble in character, mind, birth, or rank." In Cymbeline and Henry IV Part 1, the issue of nobility - or generally the lack thereof - seems to be a rather large issue to me. Specifically, where does nobility come from? Can it be attained, or is one simply born with it?

            In Cymbeline, Belarius – captor and caretaker of Guiderius and Arviragus – laments how impossible it is to prevent the shows of nobility in his two “sons.”

“How hard it is to hide the sparks of nature!

These boys know little they are sons to th’ King,

Nor Cymbeline dreams that they are alive.

They think they are mine, and though trained up thus meanly,

I’th’ cave wherein they bow, their thoughts do hit

The roofs of palaces…” (III.iii.79-84)

            When compared to Prince Hal, who is royalty yet shows no sign beyond birthright that he is royalty, I begin to see the issue of tabula rasa vs innate traits. Guiderius and Arviragus present the case for “innate traits.” Even though they were raised most of their lives in lowly conditions, they still act nobly and behave as if they belong in a high court (which, of course, they rightfully did). Hal, though, is a complete blank slate. Taking part in completely ignoble activities and flouting his duties, it’s hard to imagine him as a prince in any case.

            Presenting two completely different cases of nobility in two princes is an interesting aspect to Shakespeare that pits both sides of the nature vs nurture argument against each other. All things considered, Guiderius and Arviragus could certainly have grown up to be as rough as the environment they lived in, but their nobility shines through, while Hal stays ignoble and stubborn when contained within a royal party his whole life.