Norton, Thomas / Sackville, Thomas · published 1570 · first performed or written 1562 [Jan 18] (Annals) tragedy · before the Court T40 Sin, guilt and violent loss within famil typicality 0.90 · 506 words · other edition — not in the analysis
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T40: brother, death, life, die, heaven, sin, live, father, blood, soul.
In vain, O wretch, thou showest A woeful heart, Ferrex now lies in grave, Slain by thy hand. Yet this, O father, hear: And then I end. Your majesty well knows, That when my brother Ferrex and myself By your own hest were joined in governance Of this your grace's realm of Britain land, I never sought nor traveled for the same, Nor by myself, nor by no friend I wrought, But from your highness will alone it sprung, Of your most gracious goodness bend to me. But how my brother's heart even then repined With swollen disdain against mine equal rule, seeing that realm, which by descent should grow Wholly to him, allotted half to me? Even in your highness court he now remains, And with my brother then in nearest place, Who can record, what proof thereof was showed, And how my brother's envious heart appeared. Yet I that judged it my part to seek His favour and good will, and loath to make Your highness know, the thing which should have brought Brief to your grace, & your offence to him, Hoping my earnest suit should soon have won A loving heart within a brother's breast, Wrought in that sort that for a pledge of love And faithful heart, he gave to me his hand. This made me think, that he had banished quite All rancour from his thought and bore to me Such hearty love, as I did own to him. But after once we left your grace's court, And from your highness presence lived apart, This equal rule still, still, did grudge him so That now those enumous sparks which erst lay raked In living cinders of dissembling breast, Kindled so far within his heart disdain, That longer could he not refrain from proof Of secret practice to deprive me life By poisons force, and had bearest me so, If mine own servant hired to this fact And moved by troth with hate to work the same, In time had not bewrayed it unto me. When thus I saw the knot of love unknit, All honest league and faithful promise broke, The law of kind and troth thus rend in twain, His heart on mischief set, and in his breast Black treason hid, then, then did I despair That ever time could win him friend to me. Then saw I how he smiled with slaying knife Wrapped under cloak, than saw I deep deceit Lurk in his face and death prepared for me: Even nature moved me than to hold my life Moore dear to me than his, and had this hand, Since by his life my death must needs ensue, And by his death my life to be preserved, To shed his blood, and seek my safety so. And wisdom willed me without protract In speedy wise to put the same in ure. Thus have I told the cause that moved me To work my brother's death and so I yield My life, my death, to judgement of your grace.
Other edition — placed after the fit, excluded from the main statistics
Position
nodes 1129–1190 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 19 of 29 in this edition
Length
506 words · 620 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T40 — Sin, guilt and violent loss within familiescross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.896 (cosine to the topic centroid) · placed after the fit (approximate_predict), not counted in the topic statistics
Other seeds
seed 43: T37 · seed 44: T36 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
In vaine, O wretch, thou shewest A wofull hart, Ferrex now lies in graue, Slaine by thy hand. Yet this, O father, heare: And then I end. Your maiestie well knowes, That when my brother Ferrex and my selfe By your owne hest were ioyned in gouernance Of this your graces realme of Brittaine land, I neuer sought nor trauailled for the same, Nor by my selfe, nor by no frend I wrought, But from your highnesse will alone it sprong, Of your most gracious goodnesse bent to me. But how my brothers hart euen then repined With swollen disdaine against mine egall rule, Seing that realme, which by discent should grow Wholly to him, allotted halfe to me? Euen in your highnesse court he now remaines, And with my brother then in nearest place, Who can recorde, what proofe thereof was shewde, And how my brothers enuious hart appearde. Yet I that iudged it my part to seeke His fauour and good will, and loth to make Your highnesse know, the thing which should haue brought Brief to your grace, & your offence to him, Hoping my earnest sute should soone haue wonne A louing hart within a brothers brest, Wrought in that sort that for a pledge of loue And faithfull hart, he gaue to me his hand. This made me thinke, that he had banisht quite All rancour from his thought and bare to me Such hartie loue, as I did owe to him. But after once we left your graces court, And from your highnesse presence liued apart, This egall rule still, still, did grudge him so That now those enumous sparkes which erst lay raked In liuing cinders of dissembling brest, Kindled so farre within his hart disdaine, That longer could he not refraine from proofe Of secrete practise to depriue me life By poysons force, and had berest me so, If mine owne seruant hired to this fact And moued by trouth with hate to worke the same, In time had not bewrayed it vnto me. Whan thus I sawe the knot of loue vnknitte, All honest league and faithfull promise broke, The law of kinde and trouth thus rent in twaine, His hart on mischiefe set, and in his brest Blacke treason hid, then, then did I despeire That euer time could winne him frend to me. Then saw I how he smiled with slaying knife Wrapped vnder cloke, then saw I depe deceite Lurke in his face and death prepared for me: Euen nature moued me than to holde my life More deare to me than his, and had this hand, Since by his life my death must nedes ensue, And by his death my life to be preserued, To shed his bloud, and seeke my safetie so. And wisedome willed me without protract In spedie wise to put the same in vre. Thus haue I tolde the cause that moued me To worke my brothers death and so I yeld My life, my death, to iudgement of your grace.