The Devonshire Manuscript/Spight hathe no powre to make me sadde

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The Devonshire Manuscript
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the losse is small to lose suche on Grudge on who liste this ys my lott
The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 78r

 f. [78r] 

1    Spight hathe no powre to make me sadde /and thys
2    Nor scorenefulnesse to make me playne /
3    yt dothe suffise that on{_o}ns I had
4    and so to leve yt is no payne /1
5    Let thim frowne on that leste dothe gaine
6    who ded reioise maist nedes{es} be gladd
7    and tho with{w+t+} wordis thou wenist to rayne
8    yt dothe suffise that on{_o}ns I had

9    Sins that in chekes{es} . thus overtwawerte
10    and coylye lookis thou doste delight
11    yt dothe suffise that myne thou warte
12    tho change hathe put thye faithe to flight
13    alas it is a pevishe spight
14    to yelde the silf and then to parte
15    but sins thou seiste thie faithe so light
16    yt dothe suffise that myne thou{{th}+u+} warte

17    And sins thye love dothe thus declyne
18    and in thye herte suche hate dothe growe
19    yt dothe suffise that thou warte myne
20    and with{w+t+} good will I quite yt soo.
21    some tyme my frinde fare well my fooo
22    sins thou change I am{_a}m2 not thyne
23    but for relef of all my woo /
24    {{th}+t+}{{th}+u+} yt dothe suffise thatthou warte myne /

25    prayeng you all that{{th}+t+} heris this song
26    to iudge no wight nor none to blame
27    yt dothe suffise she dothe me wrong
28    and that herself doth kno the same /
29    And tho she chang it is no shame
30    theire kinde it is & hathe bene long
31    yet I pro{p2}teste she hathe no name /
32    yt dothe suffise she dothe me wrong /

fs

Notes & Glosses

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     1. There is a space between this line and the next.
     2. This is an example of an "unneeded" consonant, at least according to a modern perspective.

Commentary

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Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,[1] this poem was entered by H8. The speaker refuses to remain saddened by love now lost and describes the lady's fickleness as a natural quality of a woman's temperament. He is satisfied to have possessed the lady’s love at one time. For another example describing this perspective concerning womens' fickleness, see the poem “Dyvers dothe vse as I have hard & kno” (77v).

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]

Works Cited

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