English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII

Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Ballads, Scots -- Scotland -- Texts

Then she began to use hir tearmes,
      And rayléd at them fast;
    Yet bound they hir for al hir strenth                            115
      Unto a poaste at laste,
    And let hir blood under the toung,
      And tho she bled full sore,
    Yet did she rayle at them as fast
      As ere she raylde before.                                      120

    "Wel then," quoth he, "the faulte I see,
      She hath it from her mother;
    It is hir teeth infects hir toung,
      And it can be noe other;
    And since I now doe know the cause,                              125
      Whatsoever to me befall,
    Ile plucke hir teeth out of hir toung,
      Perhaps hir toung and all."

    And with a payre of pinsers strong
      He pluckt a great tooth out,                                   130
    And for to plucke another thence,
      He quicklye went about.
    But then she held up both her hands,
      And did for mercye pray,
    Protesting that against his will,                                135
      She wold not doe nor saye.

    Whereat hir husband was right glad,
      That she had changde hir mynde,
    For from that tyme unto hir death
      She proved both good and kynde.                                140
    Then did he take hir from the poast,
      And did unbind hir then;
    I wold al shrews were served thus;
      Al good wyves say Amen.

52. she did or said.




TITUS ANDRONICUS'S COMPLAINT.


On the 6th of February, 1593-4, _A noble Roman Historye of Tytus
Andronicus_, was entered in the Stationers' Registers, to John Danter,
and also "the ballad thereof." The earliest known edition of
Shakespeare's play was in 1600. The differences between this play and
the ballad are thus stated by Percy.

"In the ballad is no mention of the contest for the empire between the
two brothers, the composing of which makes the ungrateful treatment of
Titus afterwards the more flagrant: neither is there any notice taken of
his sacrificing one of Tamora's sons, which the tragic poet has assigned
as the original cause of all her cruelties. In the play, Titus loses
twenty-one of his sons in war, and kills another for assisting Bassianus
to carry off Lavinia; the reader will find it different in the ballad.
In the latter she is betrothed to the Emperor's son: in the play to his
brother. In the tragedy, only two of his sons fall into the pit, and the
third, being banished, returns to Rome with a victorious army, to avenge
the wrongs of his house: in the ballad, all three are entrapped, and
suffer death. In the scene, the Emperor kills Titus, and is in return
stabbed by Titus's surviving son. Here Titus kills the Emperor, and
afterwards himself." * * * * *

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

General

English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII

Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Ballads, Scots -- Scotland -- Texts

Then she began to use hir tearmes,
      And rayléd at them fast;
    Yet bound they hir for al hir strenth                            115
      Unto a poaste at laste,
    And let hir blood under the toung,
      And tho she bled full sore,
    Yet did she rayle at them as fast
      As ere she raylde before.                                      120

    "Wel then," quoth he, "the faulte I see,
      She hath it from her mother;
    It is hir teeth infects hir toung,
      And it can be noe other;
    And since I now doe know the cause,                              125
      Whatsoever to me befall,
    Ile plucke hir teeth out of hir toung,
      Perhaps hir toung and all."

    And with a payre of pinsers strong
      He pluckt a great tooth out,                                   130
    And for to plucke another thence,
      He quicklye went about.
    But then she held up both her hands,
      And did for mercye pray,
    Protesting that against his will,                                135
      She wold not doe nor saye.

    Whereat hir husband was right glad,
      That she had changde hir mynde,
    For from that tyme unto hir death
      She proved both good and kynde.                                140
    Then did he take hir from the poast,
      And did unbind hir then;
    I wold al shrews were served thus;
      Al good wyves say Amen.

52. she did or said.




TITUS ANDRONICUS'S COMPLAINT.


On the 6th of February, 1593-4, _A noble Roman Historye of Tytus
Andronicus_, was entered in the Stationers' Registers, to John Danter,
and also "the ballad thereof." The earliest known edition of
Shakespeare's play was in 1600. The differences between this play and
the ballad are thus stated by Percy.

"In the ballad is no mention of the contest for the empire between the
two brothers, the composing of which makes the ungrateful treatment of
Titus afterwards the more flagrant: neither is there any notice taken of
his sacrificing one of Tamora's sons, which the tragic poet has assigned
as the original cause of all her cruelties. In the play, Titus loses
twenty-one of his sons in war, and kills another for assisting Bassianus
to carry off Lavinia; the reader will find it different in the ballad.
In the latter she is betrothed to the Emperor's son: in the play to his
brother. In the tragedy, only two of his sons fall into the pit, and the
third, being banished, returns to Rome with a victorious army, to avenge
the wrongs of his house: in the ballad, all three are entrapped, and
suffer death. In the scene, the Emperor kills Titus, and is in return
stabbed by Titus's surviving son. Here Titus kills the Emperor, and
afterwards himself." * * * * *

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII

English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII

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