"Pamphilia to Amphilanthus" in Manuscript and Print

"Juxtaposing the texts of the manuscript Folger V.a.104 and the print 1621 versions of Mary Wroth’s poetry sequence 'Pamphilia to Amphilanthus,' this edition contends that the manuscript, designed for a private audience, records the complex emotions attendant on an ongoing love affair between Wroth and her cousin William Herbert, third earl of Pembroke. Its eroticism was then toned down when revised for the print version directed to a public audience. Since much scholarship on this sequence is based on the printed text of 1621, this edition will have a dramatic impact on how Wroth’s poetry is read."

• Acknowledgments xvIllustrations xviiAbbreviations xixINTRODUCTION 1The Other Voice 1Art and Life 1Family, Politics, and Literary Tradition 19The Life of Mary Sidney/Wroth 26Wroth and Herbert: Betrothal and Marriage 33Herbert’s “Elegy” and Wroth’s “Penshurst Mount” 38“Pamphilia to Amphilanthus” in Manuscript 44Pamphilia to Amphilanthus in Print 52Love’s Victory 53The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania 58The Afterlife of Wroth’s Sonnets 64Editorial Principles and Practices 66PAMPHILIA TO AMPHILANTHUS: THE MANUSCRIPT 73PAMPHILIA TO AMPHILANTHUS: THE PRINTED TEXT 205APPENDIX 1: Herbert’s “Elegy” and Wroth’s “Penshurst Mount” 267APPENDIX 2: Table of Numbers for Manuscript and Printed Poems 275APPENDIX 3: Copies of the 1621 Printed Text 281Bibliography 291Index of First Lines 301Index 305