The Devonshire Manuscript/Me list no more to sing
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| ←My hope alas hath me abusid | Nowe fare well love and theye lawes forever→ |
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f. [74v]
1 Me list no more to sing
2 of love nor of suche thing
3 howe sore that{{th}+t+} yt me wring
4 for what I song or spake
5 men dede my songis mistake /
6 my songes{es} ware to defuse
7 theye made folke to muse
8 therefor me to excuse
9 theye shall be song more plaine
10 nothr of Ioye nor payne /
11 What vailith then to sy skyp
12 at fructe over the lipp
13 w1for frute with{w+t+}outen taste
14 Dothe noght but rott & waste
15 What vailith vndre kaye
16 to kepe treasure alwaye
17 that never shall se daye
18 yf yt be not vsid
19 yt ys but abusid
20 What vaylethe the flowre
21 to stond still and whither.
22 yf no man yt savor
23 yt servis onlye for sight
24 and fadith towardes{es} night
25 Therefore fere not tessaye to essay
26 to gadre ye that ye maye
27 the flower that this daye
28 is fresher then the next
29 marke well I saye this text
30 Let not the frute be lost
31 that is desired moste
32 Delight shall quite the{{th}+e+} coste
33 yf hit be tane in tyme /
34 small labor is to clyme
35 and as for siche treasure
36 that makithe the the Richer
37 and no dele the porer
38 when it is gyven or lente
39 {_e}{es} me thinckes yt ware well spente
40 Yf this be undre miste
41 and not well playnlye wyste
42 vndrestonde me who lyste
43 for I reke not a bene
44 I wott what I doo mean
fs
Notes & Glosses edit
1. The mark may be scribal and intended to designate the omitted line. The same mark occurs on 74r.
Commentary edit
Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,[1] this poem was entered by H8 and elaborates on a carpe diem theme.
H8 uses various modes to mark stanzas, but does so inconsistently. Some stanzas have one or a combination of the following: the first word of the first line is capitalized, the lines following the first line are indented, or a space is left to separate the stanza from the following. Some stanzas have no mark to differentiate them (especially stanzas seven and eight).
Works Cited edit