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The Devonshire Manuscript/What dethe is worsse then this
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The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 74r|thumb|389px
f. [74r] 1 What dethe is worsse then this2 when my delight3 my wordelye worldly Ioye and blise /4 is from{_o} my sight5 both daye and night6 my lif alas I mis7 wfor tho I seme alyve8 my herte is hens9 thus booteles for to striue10 out of presens11 of my defens12 towardes{es} my dethe I dryve13 harteles alas what man14 maye long endure15 alas how lyve I than16 sins no recure17 maye me assure18 my lif I maye well banne19 Thus doth my tormen{_e}t gro.20 yn dedelye drede21 alas who might lyve so.22 alyve as ded23 alif to leade24 a dedelye liff in woofs /
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Commentary
Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,R.A. Rebholz, ed. Sir Thomas Wyatt: The Complete Poems. London: Penguin, 1978. 178. this poem was entered by H8. H4 enters another version of this poem on 39v, "What deth ys worse then thys /". The speaker in this poem laments the fact that he is more dead than alive because his beloved is far from his sight. The speaker plays on the figurative and literal meaning of “harteles” by portraying himself as at once living and dead.
H8 uses large capital letters in order to initiate each stanza and does not put a space between stanzas. He or she also begins the first line of stanzas 2, 3, and 4 slightly left of the following lines.
Works Cited
Textual Notes
Texts Collated
LEge45, LDev057
Collation
1 dethe] deth LDev057 LEge45 is] ys LDev057 worsse] worse LDev057 LEge45 this] thys / LDev057 2 delight] delyght // LDev057 3 wordelyeworldly] wordly LDev057 wordlywele my LEge45 Ioye] Ioy LDev057 and] my LDev057 & my LEge45 blise /] blysse / LDev057 blys LEge45 4 is] ys LDev057 sight] syght / LDev057 5 both] boeth LEge45 daye] day LDev057 and] & LEge45 night] nyght / LDev057 nyght LEge45 6 lif] lyff LDev057 liff LEge45 mis] mys / LDev057 mys LEge45 7 for] For LDev057 ffor LEge45 tho] though LEge45 alyve] A lyve / LDev057 8 herte] hert LDev057 LEge45 is] ys LDev057 hens] hens / LDev057 9 booteles] botles LDev057 LEge45 striue] stryve / LDev057 stryve LEge45 10 out] owt LDev057 oute LEge45 of presens] off presens / LDev057 11 of] off LDev057 defens] defens / LDev057 12 towardes] toward LDev057 towerd LEge45 dethe] deth LDev057 LEge45 dryve] dryve / LDev057 13 harteles] Hertles LDev057 LEge45 alas] Alas LDev057 man] man / LDev057 14 maye] may LDev057 LEge45 long] longe LDev057 endure] endure / LDev057 15 alas] Alas LDev057 LEge45 than] than / LDev057 then LEge45 16 sins] syns LDev057 LEge45 recure] recure / LDev057 17 maye] may LDev057 LEge45 assure] Assure / LDev057 18 lif] lyff LDev057 liff LEge45 maye] may LDev057 LEge45 well] wele LDev057 banne] ban / LDev057 ban LEge45 19 Thus] Thys LDev057 doth] doeth LEge45 gro.] groo LDev057 20 yn dedelye] in dedly LDev057 LEge45 drede] dreede LDev057 dred LEge45 21 alas] Alas LDev057 might] myght LDev057 LEge45 so.] so / LDev057 22 alyve] Alyve LDev057 as] As LDev057 ded] deed LDev057 LEge45 23 alif] A lyffe LDev057 alyve LEge45 leade] leed LDev057 lede LEge45 24 a] A LDev057 dedelye] deedly LDev057 dedly LEge45 liff] lyffe LDev057 lyff LEge45 woo] woo / LDev057