Their are several key differences between the Tottel’s Miscellany and The Devonshire Manuscript. To begin with, the main difference and most obvious one between the Tottlel’s Miscellany and The Devonshire Manuscript is that it is a printed book whereas the other is a Wikibook that needs to be accessed electronically through the use of the internet. Tottel’s Miscellany: Songs and Sonnets of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Sir Thomas Wyatt and Others is one of the first printed literary anthologies of English poetry. It was originally published by Richard Tottell in the year 1557 (sixteenth century). By comparison The Devonshire Manuscript is a Social Edition Wikibook. It was last reviewed on August 31, 2016. In my opinion, I think one might prefer Tottel’s Miscellany over The Devonshire simply because of how easy the book is set up. For instance, in the opening pages of the introduction one is given brief biographies/overviews of the authors work that are published in this anthology. It also credits “Uncertain Authors” and explains the “Form” of the sonnets and explains the type of pentameter they are written in. (I like how they connected into Shakespeare made me understand his sonnets a little bit better from last semester!) Furthermore, it explains the impact it had on Elizabethan Literary Culture. It was simpler to follow as opposed to The Devonshire Manuscript. One thing that I think makes the Devonshire Manuscript did really well it was the easy to use with the navigation tools. It broke down everything for it’s appropriate categories. In many ways it reminded of Wikipedia (I guess that’s why the site is called “Wikibooks”) and Scalar because of the editing options it has available to users. It also provided original images for some of the work that was published centuries ago and then an electronic transcription of it which was great to see for a side by side comparison. (I may be wrong but isn’t that what the site Shakespeare’s world does ?) I also think someone the Devonshire Manuscript is a bit more preferable is that someone does not have to sit through and read countless pages to acquire some of type of information, through the site you can instantly find what your looking for. However with me, I rather read the Tottel’s Miscellany because it’s a printed book that probably has not gone through many revisions where as the information on The Devonshire Manuscript can always be changed after time has passed. In other words, their is no set guarantee for it if the information is right or wrong which is arguable and subjective.
The Social Edition of the Devonshire Manuscript is a Wikibook that was created by the British Library it provides biographies and genealogical tables of prominent figures from Britain’s history. In addition, it provides visualization aids (like diagrams, tables, photographs, and much more) to get a better perspective for the information being discussed and referenced. I think the purpose of this site was to provide more context and provide more access to users around the world to enrich their knowledge. As a user, my experience with it was not hard to use it at all but it reminded me too way too much of Wikipedia. This made me question the validity of the information because of the editing feature that’s provided for users. A feature that I completely found to be totally mesmerizing was the Family and Affairs of Henry VII. It provided a great visualization of all the information and it gave a very straight guide (arrows) forward to follow. Although, I would of like they also provided photographs/paintings of each person with their names attached to it. This feature would of made it stand out more but nonetheless it was very informative.
A poem that struck me the most was Complaint of a lover rebuked. This poem struck me because of the title because it gave me the impression it would sound like a ranting poem where the speaker would complain about his/her lover and discuss their flaws. After reading the poem I was able to understand that it was talking about a naval port in France because the word “brest” was mentioned (I looked up the word on the Oxford English Dictionary). I also was able to learn that speaker was impacted by his lover because it clearly states “She, that me taught to love, and suffer payne”. I think the poem is emphasizing that love can take form and control one’s action because it shows how love can take away from one identity. It explicitly states “His purpose lost” which can be interpreted as losing one’s individuality. I believe the poem also personifies the idea of love because of what it means. In other words, love can be seen a character that guides the speakers actions because of what it exemplifies to the readers. In my opinion, I think the title provided by Tottell is good because it shows modern day readers of the text despite the archaic language of the text and unfamiliar terms that the idea of love was still a serious subject back in the days as it is nowadays. Although I sort of don’t like “rebuked” in title but then again I realized that everyone can argue something about their lover because no couple is perfect in this world. Every couple has flaws and no couple is perfect. The poem sheds light on this criticism and debate which is why I picked this poem of it’s striking subject matter.