The Devonshire Manuscript/Pacyence of all my smart
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Introduction | Contributors | Textual Introduction |
| ←Sum tyme I syghe sumtyme I syng | Who wold haue euer thowght→ |
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f. [21r]
1 #3 Pacyence of all my smart
2 ffor fortune ys tornyd awry
3 pacyence must ese my hart
4 that mornes{es} contynually
5 pacyence to suffer Wrong
6 ys a pacyence to long
7 pacyence to have A nay
8 of that{{th}+t+} I most Desyre
9 pacyence to haue allway
10 & euer{u'} burne lyke fyre
11 pacyence with{w+t+}owt Desart
12 ys grownder of my smart
13 Who can with{w+t+} mery hart
14 set forthe sum plesant song
15 that Allways felys but smart
16 and neuer{u'} hathe but wrong
17 yet pacyence euermore
18 must hele the wownd & sore
19 pacyence to be content
20 {es}{w+t+} withith froward fortunes trayn
21 pacyence to the intent
22 ssumwhat to slake my payn
23 I se no Remedy
24 But suffer pacyently
25 To playn wher ys none ere
26 my chawnce ys chawnsyd so
27 ffor yt dothe well apere
28 my frend ys tornyd my foo
29 But syns there ys no defence
30 I must take pacyence
Commentary
[edit | edit source]Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,[1] this poem was entered by H2. The poem describes the speaker's suffering due to a friend-turned-foe and his or her enduring patience. The poems “What nedythe lyff when I requyer” (43r-44r) and “Greting to you bothe yn hertye wyse” (79r-79v) depict similar themes: the former recounts how lovers become enemies while the latter includes a warning about false friends.
Rebholz notes that this poem may belong to a group of Wyatt's poems inspired by Serafino's Canzona de la Patientia.[2] Lines 1-2 of "Pacyence of all my smart" translate the first two lines of Serafino's poem.
Works Cited
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