The Devonshire Manuscript/blame not my lute for he must sownde

f. [64r]

1    3blame not my lute for he must sownde 2    of thes or that as liketh me 3    for lake of wytt the lutte is bownde 4    To gyve suche tunes as plesithe me 5    tho my songes be sumewhat strange 6    &amp; spekes suche wordes as toche thy change 7    blame not my lutte

8    my lutte alas doth not ofende 9    tho that per {p+} forne he must agre 10    to sownde suche teunes as I entende 11    to sing to them that herth me 12    then tho my songes be song somewhat plain 13    &amp; tochethe some that vse to fayn 14    blame not my lutte

15    my lute &amp; strynges {es} may not deny 16    but as I strike they must obay 17    br e ke not them than soo wrongfully 18    but wryeke thy selff some wyser way 19    &amp; tho the songes {es} whiche I endight 20    to qwytt thy change with {w+t+} rightfull spight 21    blame not my lute W

f. [64v]

22    spyght askyth spight and changing changes {es} 23    and falsyd faith must indes {es} be knowne 24    the faut e so grett the case so strange 25    of right it must abrode be blown 26    then sins that by thyn ovvn desartt 27    my soinges {es} do tell how trew thou artt 28    blame not my lute

29    blame but the selffe that hast mysdown 30    and well desaruide to haue blame 31    change thou thy way so evyll begown 32    &amp; then my lute shall sownde that same 33    but of tyll then my fyngeres play 34    by they desartt the s r wontyd way 35    blame not my lutte

36    farwell vnknowne for tho thow brake 37    {w+t+} {es} my stryngees in spight with grett desdayn 38    yet haue I fownd owtt for thy sake 39    stringees {es} for to strynge my lute agayne 40    &amp; yf perchance this folys he syme Rymyne 41    Do do make the blestht blushe at any tym 42    blame natt my lutte

Commentary
Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt, this poem was possibly entered by H1.1. Rebholz notes that the poem's meaning depends on the "defiance of expectation"; based on the first three stanzas, the speaker seems likely to take responsibility, but in the fourth and fifth stanzas he instead directs blame to the lady. "Art and the artist," in the words of Rebholz, "must present the truth, and the lady's infidelity is the truth."

John Hall composed a moralizing parody of this poem, set to music, which also appears in his work The Court of Virtue (c. 1565). In both instances, Hall writes a clerical response to secular love poems (such as those composed by Wyatt) and his title is a deliberate parody of the book The Court of Venus, which was one of the earliest printed texts containing Wyatt's poems. This poem was also sung with a lute: MS 448.16, located at the Folger Library, preserves a lute score. Rebholz states that the composer did not produce the score specifically for Wyatt's poem, but based it from an older Italian musical pattern that was used for adapting poetry to music.

Texts Collated
LSlo3501

Collation
1     blame not my lute for he must sownde] blam not my luyt LSlo3501 2     of thes or that as liketh me]  LSlo3501 3     for lake of wytt the lutte is bownde]  LSlo3501 4     To gyve suche tunes as plesithe me]  LSlo3501 5     tho my songes be sumewhat strange]  LSlo3501 6     &amp; spekes suche wordes as toche thy change]  LSlo3501 7     blame not my lutte ]  LSlo3501 8     my lutte alas doth not ofende]  LSlo3501 9     tho that erforne he must agre ]  LSlo3501 10     to sownde suche tennes as I entende]  LSlo3501 11     to sing to them that herth]  LSlo3501 12     me then tho my songes be song somewhat plain]  LSlo3501 13     &amp; tochethe some that vse to fayn]  LSlo3501 14     blame not my lutte]  LSlo3501 15     my lute &amp; strynges may not deny]  LSlo3501 16     but as I strike they must obay]  LSlo3501 17     breake not them than soo wrongfully]  LSlo3501 18     but wryeke thy selff some wyser way]  LSlo3501 19     &amp; tho the songes whiche I endight]  LSlo3501 20     to qwytt thy change with rightfull spight]  LSlo3501 21     blame not my lute]  LSlo3501 22     spyght askyth spight and changing changes]  LSlo3501 23     and falsyd faith must indes be knowne]  LSlo3501 24     tho fautees so grett the case so strange]  LSlo3501 25     of right it must abrode be blown]  LSlo3501 26     then sins that by thyn ovvn desartt]  LSlo3501 27     my soinges do tell how trew thou artt]  LSlo3501 28     blame not my lute]  LSlo3501 29     blame but the selffe that hast mysdown]  LSlo3501 30     and well desaruide to haue blame]  LSlo3501 31     change thou thy way so evyll begown]  LSlo3501 32     &amp; then my lute shall sownde that same]  LSlo3501 33     but of tyll then my fyngeres play]  LSlo3501 34     by they desartt thesr wontyd way]  LSlo3501 35     blame not my lutte]  LSlo3501 36     farwell vnknowne for tho thow brake]  LSlo3501 37     my stryngees in spight with grett desdayn]  LSlo3501 38     yet haue I fownd owtt for they sake]  LSlo3501 39     stringees for to strynge my lute agayne]  LSlo3501 40     &amp; yf perchance this folys he syme Rymynne]  LSlo3501 41     Do do make the blesthtblushe at any tym]  LSlo3501 42     blame natt my lutte]  LSlo3501