The Devonshire Manuscript, Now must I lerne to lyue at rest

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The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 54r (Image: DMSEG, CC BY-SA 3.0) |

f. [54r]

1    Now must I lerne to lyue at rest
2    & weyne me of my wyll
3    ffor I repent where I was prest
4    my fansy to ffullfyll

5    I may no longer{g'} more endure
6    my wontyd lyf to lede
7    but I must lerne to put in vre
8    the change of womanyede

9    I may not se my ser{{s}8}uys long
10    rewardyd in suche wyse
11    nor I may not sustayn suche wrong
12    that ye my loue dyspyce

13    I may not syghe in sorows depe
14    nor wayle the wante of loue
15    nor I may nother cruche nor crepe
16    where hyt dothe not behoue

17    But I of force must nedes{es} forsake
18    my faythe so fondly sett
19    & frome henceforthe must vnder{d'}take
20    suche foly to fforgett

21    Now must I seke some other ways
22    my self for to with{w+t+}saue
23    & as I trust by myn assays
24    some Remedy to haue

25    I aske none other Remedy
26    to recompence my wronge
27    but ones{es} to haue the lyberty
28    that I haue lakt so long

ffinis1

Notes & Glosses

1. The dots on the letter is are scoops, as in "Syns loue ys suche that as ye wott" (52r), "Lo how I seke & sew to haue" (52v), "My loue ys lyke vnto theternall fyre" (53r), and "Yf in the worlde there be more woo" (53v).

Commentary

Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,1] this poem was entered by [H6 and is unique to this manuscript. The speaker tries to exercise reason by forcing himself to forsake a love that is not returned. The power that holds him derives either from the lady’s beauty or his own fancy and will. Rebholz notes that the speaker's use of passive voice may indicate "a reluctance to acknowledge responsibility for falling in love."[2]

H6 seems fond of dotting the letter “i” with a scoop; see, for instance, "Syns loue ys suche that as ye wott" (52r), "Lo how I seke & sew to haue" (52v), "My loue ys lyke vnto theternall fyre" (53r), and "Yf in the worlde there be more woo" (53v).

Works Cited

• ↑ R.A. Rebholz, ed. Sir Thomas Wyatt: The Complete Poems. London: Penguin, 1978. 312-13.
• ↑ ibid., 536.

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