A New Version of “The Ways on Earth” by Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex

Abstract

Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex did not have a significant reputation as a poet among his contemporaries; nevertheless, both his passionate missives and his verses were much sought after by members of later generations who saw in him one of the last heroes of a glorious era. A hitherto unprinted version of one of his sonnets, “The Ways on Earth, have paths and turnings known” is contained in a recently rediscovered 17th century English miscellany. This article prints the text of this manuscript, a key document which attributes this lyric to Essex and a testimony to the long-lasting fame, which has made him the protagonist of novels, melodramas, and films from the 18th to the 21st century.

Keywords

• robert devereux earl of essex
• elizabethan poetry
• elizabeth i
• elizabethian courtier poets
• early modern manuscripts