The Devonshire Manuscript/Cruell desire my master and my foo

←Yf with complaint the paine might be exprest

She sat and sewid that hathe done me the wronge→

The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 73r

f. [73r]

1    Cruell desire my master{m+r+}¹ & my foo.
2    {{th}+u+}{_u} thy self so chaungid for shame how maist thou^see
3    that{{th}+t+} I have sought dothe chase me to & froo
4    {{th}+u+}{_o} whomthou didist rule / nowe rulith the & me
5    What right is to rule thy subiectes{es} soo.
6    and to be ruled bye mutabilitye
7    lo wherebye the / I doubtid to have blame
8    even now bye dred againe I doubte the{{th}+e+} same /

fs

Notes & Glosses

     1. The abbreviation is highly stylized. Part of the m is uninked. See also a slightly different version on line 5 of "She sat and sewid that hathe done me the wronge" (73r). For the abbreviation, see Cappelli.

Commentary

Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt by R. A. Rebholz under the alternate title “Desire, alas, my master, and my foe,” this poem was entered by H8. The poem also appears in Tottel's Miscellany, entitled “The louer blameth his instant desire” (item 112). R. A. Rebholz observes that Wyatt's poem in the Devonshire Manuscript might be an earlier version, and, if so, we can identify two stages of the poem's composition. In the poem, Wyatt describes Desire as a tyrannical ruler: “What right is to rule thy subiectes soo/ and to be ruled bye mutabilitye” (5-6). This description may be interpreted topically with regards to the rule of Henry VIII; the personification of Desire as a tyrannical monarch is not unusual in the early Tudor period, however. H8 enters two other poems that personify Desire: "Greting to you both yn herte wyse" (79r) and “My nowne Iohn poyntz,” (85v-87r).

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

STC13860_04, LEge07

Collation

1 Cruell desire] Desire alas LEge07 DEsire (alas) STC_13860_04 master] master, STC_13860_04 &] and STC_13860_04 foo.] foo / LEge07 fo: STC_13860_04
2 thy self so chaungid for shame] so sore alterd thi sellff LEge07 So sore altred thy self STC_13860_04 maist] mayst LEge07 STC_13860_04 see] se? LEge07 see? STC_13860_04
3 that I have sought dothe chase] whome thousome tyme I did sekesowght / chaseththat dryvys LEge07 Sometime thou sekest, that drieues STC_13860_04 &] and STC_13860_04 froo] fro LEge07 STC_13860_04
4 whom thou didist rule / nowe rulith] whomesome tyme thow didst ule / ow lyththat ledythe LEge07 Sometime, thou leadst, that leadeth STC_13860_04 the &] thee, and STC_13860_04 me] me. LEge07 STC_13860_04
5 What right] tyranie itwhat reson LEge07 right] reason STC_13860_04 rule] rewle LEge07 soo.] so? LEge07 STC_13860_04
6 and to be ruled bye] by forcyd law & LEge07 and to be ruled bye mutabilitye] By forced law, and mutabilitie. STC_13860_04 mutabilitye] mutabilite LEge07
7 lo] for LEge07 For STC_13860_04 wherebye] where by LEge07 STC_13860_04 the /] the LEge07 thee STC_13860_04 doubtid] dowtyd LEge07 douted STC_13860_04 have] haue STC_13860_04 blame] blame: STC_13860_04
8 even] evyn LEge07 Euen STC_13860_04 bye dred] by hate LEge07 STC_13860_04 againe] agayne LEge07 again STC_13860_04 doubte] dowt LEge07 doubte the same /] dout thesamethe same. STC_13860_04 same /] same. LEge07