Properties
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- 2026-01-30T06:24:48.288Z
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- It seems unlikely that Jaggard drew the ‘copy’ of ‘My flocks feed not’ directly from Weelkes’ volume. Apart from three misprints and minor differences in spelling for which Jaggard’s printer may be held responsible (e.g. ‘nenying’ for ‘renying’, l. 4; ‘woven’ for ‘women’, l. 12; ‘blacke’ for ‘backe’, l. 28), there are textual discrepancies between his and Weelkes’ versions which suggest that Jaggard employed ‘copy’ other than that which Weelkes followed. In neither volume are the words carefully printed, and the sense is in both texts difficult to follow. At the end of the first stanza (ll. 11–12), Weelkes reads:—
For now I see inconstancie
More in women then in many men to be:
Jaggard reads:—
For now I see, inconstancy,
More in woven [i.e. women] then in men remaine.
Here the rime with ‘dame’, though not good, is improved by Jaggard.
In the second stanza, ll. 10–11 appear in Weelkes thus:—
With howling noyse to see my dolfull plight;
How sighes resound through harcklesse ground.
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34
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM
Jaggard reads:—
In howling *wise*, to see my dolefull plight,
How sighes resound through *hartles* ground.
In the third stanza Jaggard’s text differs from that of Weelkes in nearly every line. For example:—
- line 2, Weelkes: Lowde bells ring not cherefully;
- Jaggard: Greene plants bring not forth their die.
- line 4, Weelkes: Nimphes backcreping
- Jaggard: Nimphes blacke [i.e. backe] peeping.
- line 9, Weelkes: Farewell, sweet lasse, the like nere was.
- Jaggard: Farewell sweet loue thy like nere was.
- line 12, Weelkes: Other help for him I know ther’s none.
- Jaggard: Other helpe for him I see that there is none.
In *England’s Helicon*.
The text of this poem in *England’s Helicon* follows closely that of *The Passionate Pilgrim*, and was doubtless taken from the latter volume direct or from the same manuscript. Misprints are corrected. The only textual change of importance is in the last stanza, line 10, where ‘woe’ is replaced by ‘moane’ for the sake of the rime with ‘none’ in the concluding line.
The poem was clearly very popular, and was constantly copied in ‘private’ commonplace books. A transcript of it in a contemporary script in the British Museum, Harleian MS. 6910, fol. 156 b, without author’s name, supplies many readings which differ from the printed versions. These variations are often improvements and probably present the verse in the form that it left the writer’s hand. For example, in Stanza 1, l. 6, the four lines read in the manuscript:—
All my merry Jiggs are *cleane* forgot
All my *layes of Love* are lost God wot
Where my *joyes were firmly linkt* by love
There *annoyes are* placst without remove.
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THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 35
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This makes far better sense than Jaggard’s:—
All my merry Igges are quite forgot,
All my Ladies love is lost (god wot)
Where her faith was firmely fixt in loue,
There a nay is plac’t without remoue.
So again in Stanza 2, ll. 9–10, the manuscript reading:—
My sighes so deepe, doth cause him to weepe
With houling noyse to wayle my woeful plight.
is superior to Jaggard’s:—
With sighes so deepe, procures to weepe,
In howling wise, to see my dolefull plight.
In the following line the MS. is probably right in reading ‘through Arcadia grounds’ for ‘through hartles’ or ‘harcklesse’ of the printed copies. In Stanza 3, l. 4, ‘nymphs looke peeping’ is better than any of the printed readings (i.e. ‘back creeping’, ‘blacke peeping’, or ‘backe peeping’). Finally, in l. 7,
Alle our evening sportes from greenes are fled
is more pictorial than:—
All our euening sport from vs is fled.
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