The Devonshire Manuscript/I abide and abide and better abide
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Introduction | Contributors | Textual Introduction |
| ←Dryven bye desire I dede this dede | Absens absenting causithe me to complaine→ |
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f. [81v]
1 I abide and abide and better{t'} abide
2 {u'}{p3} and after the olde prouerbe the happie daye
3 and ever my ladye to me dothe saye
4 let me alone and I will pro{p3}uyde
5 I abide and abide and tarrye the tyde
6 and with{w+t+} abiding spede well ye maye
7 thus do I abide I wott allwaye
8 nother obtayning nor yet denied
9 Aye me this long abidyng
10 semithe to me as who sayethe
11 a prolonging of a dieng dethe
12 or a refusing of a deryrid thing
13 moche ware it bettre for to be playne
14 then to saye abide and yet shall not obtayne /
fs
Commentary[edit | edit source]
Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,[1] this poem was entered by H8. The speaker finds himself in a prolonged state of “dieng dethe” because the lady neither grants love, nor refuses him.
Works Cited[edit | edit source]