Meaning & Analysis
A person who is physically hungry is likely to become irritable, ill-tempered, and easily provoked to anger.
Insights
Deprivation and Discontent
'Hunger' can be interpreted as a metaphor for any form of deprivation, whether of rights, resources, justice, or affection. The proverb suggests that denying people their fundamental needs or desires will inevitably lead to frustration, resentment, and conflict.
Catalyst for Social Unrest
On a societal level, the proverb warns that a populace suffering from widespread poverty and want ('a hungry man') will become a source of social and political instability ('an angry man'), potentially leading to rebellion and civil strife.
Primal Instincts over Reason
The proverb highlights how basic, primal needs can supersede social conditioning and civility. Hunger strips away the veneer of patience and composure, revealing a more fundamental, instinctual aggression.
Physiological Reality
The proverb has a direct physiological basis, now commonly understood as being 'hangry'. Low blood sugar can trigger the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, leading to irritability and aggression. This biological reality gives the ancient wisdom a modern scientific validation.
Political Warning
Historically, the proverb serves as a potent political warning. Food shortages and widespread hunger have been primary catalysts for social unrest and revolution, from the grain riots of ancient Rome to the French Revolution. Shakespeare's use in 'Coriolanus' directly links the citizens' hunger to their rebellion against the state.
Psychological Truth
Psychologically, the proverb aligns with needs-based theories of motivation. When fundamental physiological needs are unmet, higher-order functions like emotional regulation and rational discourse are impaired. The related proverb, 'The belly has no ears', reinforces this idea that a person in a state of deprivation is not receptive to reason.
Rhetorical Devices
Assonance and Rhyme
The strong assonance and near-rhyme between 'hungry' and 'angry' create a memorable and impactful phonetic link, aurally reinforcing the causal connection between the two states.
Parallelism
The concise, parallel structure ('A [adjective] MAN an [adjective] man') creates a powerful equivalence, presenting the connection between hunger and anger as a direct and inescapable truth.
Aphorism
The proverb's brevity and declarative tone make it a powerful aphorism. It states a complex psycho-physiological reality as a simple, undeniable fact.
Transcription
Quotations
Hungry men ar angry.
As the Proverb insinuates, when I am hungry I am angry.
(is an angry Man).
Hungry Bellies have no Ears.
Shakespeare Citations
Is it near dinner time? —I would it were, That you might kill your stomach on your meat And not upon your maid.
He [Coriolanus] had not din’d. The veins unfill’d, our blood is cold, and then We pout upon the morning, are unapt To give or to forgive; but when we have stuff’d These pipes and these conveyances of our blood .. we have suppler souls Than in our priest-like fasts.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.