The Devonshire Manuscript/As power & wytt wyll me Assyst

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f. [20r]

1    3As power & wytt wyll me Assyst
2    my wyll shall wyll evyn as ye lyst
3    For as ye lyst my wyll ys bent
4    in euer{u'}ythyng to be content
5    to ser{{s}8}ve in love tyll lyff be spent
6    and to Reward my love thus ment
   evyn as ye lyst

7    To fayn or fable ys not my mynd
8    nor to Refuce suche as I fynd
9    But as a lambe of yumble kynd
10    or byrd in cage to be Assynd
   &c

11    When all the flokk ys cum & gone
12    myn eye & hart agreythe in one
13    hathe chosyn yow only Alone
14    To be my Ioy or elles{es} my mone
   &c

15    Ioy yf pytty apere in place
16    mone yf dysdayn do shew hys face
17    yet crave I not as in thys case
18    but as ye lede to folow the trace
   &c

19    Sum in wordes{es} muche love can fayn
20 {es} {es} {_u} and sum for wordes gyve wordes agayn
21    thus wordes{es} for wordes{es} in wordes{es} Remayn
22    & yet at last wordes{es} do optayn
   &c

23    To crave in wordes{es} I wyll exchew
24    & love in dede I wyll ensew
25    yt ys my mynd bothe hole & trew
26    & for my trewthe I pray yow rew
   &c

27    Dere hart I bydd yo^r hart farewell
28    with{w+t+} better hart than tong can tell
29    yet take thys tale as trew as gospell
30    ye may my lyff save or expell
   &c

fynys

Commentary

Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,^[1] this poem was entered by H2. In his 1815 edition, George Frederick Nott argues that the poem may be an imitation of a Spanish form called Glosa in which the first couplet introduces the theme of the poem and commented on by the subsequent stanzas.^[2] Agnes Foxwell similarly commented that the structure follows a tradition of Middle English poems in which the first couplet or verse acts as the text for the poem.^[3] Following Foxwell's argument, Rebholz suggests that the lyric could be a modified carol: "[i]f the poem stems from the carol tradition, it might best be described as in the form of a modified carol, in which a part of the burden is repeated after each stanza (521).^[4] These types of carols, as John Stevens notes, are often found in early Tudor song-books.^[5]

Works Cited

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

L18752_01

Collation

1     As power & wytt wyll me Assyst]  L18752_01
2     my wyll shall wyll evyn as ye lyst]  L18752_01
3     For] evyn L18752_01     ye] you L18752_01
4     in euerythyng] yn every thynge L18752_01
5     serve in love] serue yn loue L18752_01     lyff] lyf L18752_01
6     and] & L18752_01     Reward] reward L18752_01     love thus ment] loue yn contynent L18752_01     evyn as ye lyst] even as you lyst L18752_01
7     To] to L18752_01     fable] fabble L18752_01
8     Refuce] refuse L18752_01     I] y L18752_01
9     But] but L18752_01     as] even as L18752_01     of [sd]y[/sd][add]h[/add]umble kynd] humbull & kynd L18752_01
10     in] yn L18752_01     Assynd] assynd L18752_01     &c] even as you lyst L18752_01
11     When] when L18752_01     flokk] folke L18752_01     cum] com L18752_01     gone] gon L18752_01
12     myn] my L18752_01     eye] Ioye L18752_01     agreythe in] agreeth yn L18752_01
13     hathe] & hath L18752_01     chosyn yow] chosen you L18752_01     Alone] alone L18752_01
14     To] to L18752_01     Ioy] Ioye L18752_01     elles] ells L18752_01     mone] mon L18752_01     &c] even as you lyst L18752_01
15     Ioy yf] yf L18752_01     pytty] pyte L18752_01     apere in] appeyr yn L18752_01     place] hes plas L18752_01
16     mone] or L18752_01     do shew] shew L18752_01     hys face] hes fas L18752_01
17     crave I] craue y L18752_01     not as] nothyng L18752_01     in thys case] yn this cas L18752_01
18     ye] you L18752_01     lede] lyst L18752_01     trace] tras L18752_01     &c] even as you lyst L18752_01
19     Sum in] some yn L18752_01     muche love] mwche loue L18752_01     can] doth L18752_01     fayn] fayne L18752_01
20     and sum] & some L18752_01     gyve] gyue L18752_01     agayn] a gayne L18752_01
21     thus] thys L18752_01     in] yn L18752_01     Remayn] remayn L18752_01
22     do optayn] dow obtayne L18752_01     &c] even as ye lyst L18752_01
23     To] to L18752_01     in] yn L18752_01     I wyll exchew] y woll eschewe L18752_01
24     love in] loue yn L18752_01     I wyll ensew] y woll ensue L18752_01
25     yt ys my mynd bothe hole] wythe the my hole hart faythfull L18752_01
26 for] of L18752_01     trewthe I] trewth y L18752_01     yow] you L18752_01     &c] even as you lyst L18752_01
27 Dere] der L18752_01     I] y L18752_01     bydd] bed L18752_01     yor hart farewell] you now fawrwell L18752_01
28     better hart than] as good hart as L18752_01
29     yet take thys tale as trew as gospell] thys tall take trew as thegospell L18752_01
30     ye may my lyff save or expell] my lyf ye may both saue & spylle L18752_01     &c] even as you lyst L18752_01

[1] R.A. Rebholz, ed., Sir Thomas Wyatt: The Complete Poems (London: Penguin, 1978), 270-71.

[2] George Frederick Nott, ed., The Works of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder 1815-16, vol. 2 (London: Bensley, 1815).

[3] Agnes Kate Foxwell, ed., The Poems of Sir Thomas Wiat (London: University of London Press, 1913).

[4] Rebholz, 521.

[5] John Stevens, Music and Poetry in the Early Tudor Court (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961), 351-425.

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