The Devonshire Manuscript/I have sought long with stedfastnesse

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The Devonshire Manuscript
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←patiens for my devise

Nature that gave the bee so fete agrace→

f. [71v]

and thys

1    I have sought long with{w+t+} stedfastnesse
2    to¹ have had some ease of my grete smar{m'}te
3    but nought avaylith faythefulnesse
4    to grave with{w+t+}in yo^r stony herte /

5    But hap and hit or els hit not
6    as vncerteyne as is the wynde
7    right so it farith bye the shott
8    of love alas that{{th}+t+} is so blinde

9    therefor I plaide the fole yn vayne
10    {_e}{w+t+} with petye when I furste beganne
11    yo^rcruell herte for to con{_o}straine
12    sins love regardes{es} no dolefull man

13    but of yo^r goodnesse all yo^r minde
14    ys that I shuld com{_o}playne yn vaine
15    this ys the favo^rthat{{th}+t+} I fynde
16    ye list to here how I can plaine /

17    but tho I plaine to eese yo^r hart
18    truste me I trust to tem{_e}pre yt so
19    not for to care wiche side reve^rte
20    all shalbe on in welth or woo

21    for fancye Rulis though right saie naye /
22    even as the{{th}+t+} god man kist his kowe
23    no nother Reson can ye laye
24    but as who saith I rek not howe /s

fs

Notes & Glosses

1. The o of the word "to" is placed above the crossbar of the t.

Commentary

Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,^[1] this poem was entered by H8. In this poem Wyatt explores the familiar trope in which fancy opposes reason. The speaker complains of the lady’s heartlessness; he seeks to detach himself and does not care how his complaint will be answered.

This poem is one of seventeen entries where Margaret Douglas marks “and thys.” Paul Remley has suggested that these annotations relate to another in-text annotation of hers, “lerne but to syng it” (on "now all of chaunge" (81r)), and may indicate a group of texts to be learned for entertaining.^[2] Douglas's phrase "and thys" may refer to this poem, the adjacent one (“To wishe and wante and not obtaine”), or both poems.

Works Cited

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

LEge16

Collation

1 stedfastnesse] stedfastnes LEge16
2 some] som LEge16 grete] great LEge16 smarte] smert LEge16
3 avaylith] availleth LEge16 faythefulnesse] faithfulnes LEge16
4 yor] your LEge16 herte /] hert LEge16
5 hap] happe LEge16
6 vncerteyne] vncertain LEge16
7 farith] fareth LEge16 bye] by LEge16
8 blinde] blynd LEge16
9 therefor] Therefore LEge16 plaide] plaid LEge16 fole] foole LEge16 yn vayne] invain LEge16
10 petye] pitie LEge16 furste] first LEge16 beganne] began LEge16
11 yor] your LEge16 herte] hert LEge16 constraine] constrain LEge16
12 sins] syns LEge16 regardes] regardeth LEge16 dolefull] doulfull LEge16
13 but] But LEge16 yor] your LEge16 goodnesse] goodenes LEge16 yor] your LEge16 minde] mynde LEge16
14 ys] is LEge16 shuld] should LEge16 complayne] complain LEge16 yn vaine] invain LEge16
15 ys] is LEge16 favor] favour LEge16
16 plaine /] plain LEge16
17 but] But LEge16 plaine] plain LEge16 cese] please LEge16 yor] your LEge16 hate] hert LEge16
18 truste] trust LEge16 tempre] temper LEge16 yt] it LEge16
19 wiche side] which do LEge16 reverte] revert LEge16
20 on] oon LEge16
21 for] ffor LEge16 fancye Rulis though right saie naye /] fansy rueleth tho right say nay LEge16
22 that god man] the goodeman LEge16 kist] kyst LEge16
23 no nother Reson] none othre reason LEge16 laye] lay LEge16
24 saith] saieth LEge16 rek] reke LEge16 howe /] how LEge16

[1] R.A. Rebholz, ed. Sir Thomas Wyatt: The Complete Poems. London: Penguin, 1978. 145-46.

[2] Paul Remley. "Mary Shelton and Her Tudor Literary Milieu". Rethinking the Henrician Era: Essays on Early Tudor Texts and Contexts. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. 50.

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