The Introduction
edit
The narrator is walking alone in the country on a Midsummer night admiring the beauty of nature,
- Apon the Midsummer evin, mirriest of nichtis,
- I muvit furth allane in meid as midnicht wes past,
- Besyd ane gudlie grein garth, full of gay flouris,
- Hegeit of ane huge hicht with hawthorne treis,
- Quhairon ane bird on ane bransche so birst out hir notis,
- That never ane blythfullar bird was on the beuche hard.
In a hedged garden he notices three women,
- I saw thre gay ladeis sit in ane grein arbeir,
- All grathit into garlandis of fresche gudlie flouris.
- So glitterit as the gold wer thair glorius gilt tressis,
- Quhill all the gressis did gleme of the glaid hewis,
- Kemmit war thair cleir hair and curiouslie sched,
- Attour thair schulderis doun schyre schyning full bricht,
- With curches cassin thair abone of kirsp cleir and thin.
He eavesdrops on their conversation, hoping for amusement.
One of the women, a widow, asks her two younger, married companions about their opinion of marriage,
- "Bewrie," said the wedo, "ye woddit wemen ying,
- Quhat mirth ye fand in maryage sen ye war menis wyffis.[2]
The First Wife's speech
edit
The first wife responds by telling the others about her unhappy marriage to an older, unattractive man.
- I have ane wallidrag, ane worme, ane auld wobat carle,
- A waistit wolroun, na worth bot wourdis to clatter,
- Ane bumbart, ane dron bee, and bag full of flewme,
- Ane skabbit skarth, ane scorpioun, ane scutarde behind,
- To see him scart his awin skyn grit scunner I think,
- Quhen kissis me that carybald, than kyndillis all my sorow.
She adds that while he is a poor lover, he is also wealthy and generous.
- And thoght his pené purly me payis in bed,
- His purse pays richely in recompense efter,
- For, or he clym on my corse, that carybald forlane,
- I have conditioun of a curche of kersp allther fynest,
- A goun of engranyt claith, right gaily furrit,
- A ring with a ryall stane, or other riche jowell.[2]
The Second Wife's speech
edit
The second wife speaks next and tells the others that her husband is young but also lacking as a lover due to a lecherous past.
- He is a young man ryght yaip, bot nought in youthis flouris,
- For he is fadit full far and feblit of strenth.
- He wes as flurising fresche within this few yeris,
- Bot he is falyeid full far and fulyeid in labour,
- He has bene lychour so lang quhill lost is his natur,
- His lume is waxit larbar and lyis into swonne.
He is vain and boasting.
- He has a luke without lust and lif without curage,
- He has a borme without force and fessous but vertu,
- And fair wordis but effect, all fruster of dedis.
She adds that she would like a new lover,
- Ye speik of berdis on bewch, of blise may thai sing,
- That, on Sanct Valentynis day, ar vacandis ilk yer,
- Hed I that plesand prevelege to part quhen me likit,
- To change, and ay to cheise agane, than, chastité, adew!,
- Than suld I haif a fresch feir to fang in myn armes,
- To hald a freke, quhill he faynt, may foly be calit.[2]
The Widow's Speech
edit
The widow speaks next. She begins by advising her friends to emulate her behaviour of adopting a gentle persona while remaining secretly ruthless.
- I schaw yow, sisteris in schrift, I wes a schrew evir,
- Bot I wes schene in my schrowd, and schew me innocent,
- And thought I dour wes and dane, dispitous, and bald,
- I wes dissymblit suttelly in a sanctis liknes,
- I semyt sober, and sueit, and sempill without fraud,
- Bot I couth sexty dissaif that suttilar wer haldin.
She summarises this approach as,
- Be dragonis baith and dowis, ay in double forme,
- And quhen it nedis yow, onone, note baith ther strenthis,
- Be amyable with humble face, as angellis apperand,
- And with a terrebill tail be stangand as edderis.[2]
Her First Husband
edit
She reveals that she has been married twice. Her first husband, like that of the first wife, was an older man.
- ane hair hogeart, that hostit out flewme,
- I hatit him like a hund, thought I it hid prevé.
She meanwhile had a younger lover,
- I had a lufsummar leid my lust for to slokyn,
- That couth be secrete and sure and ay saif my honour,
- And sew bot at certayne tymes and in sicir placis,
- Ay quhen the ald did me anger with akword wordis
- Apon the galland for to goif it gladit me agane.
She gave birth to a son, but confides that her husband was impotent by the time of his conception. She persuaded him to bequeath his property to the boy.
- I wald him chuk, cheik and chyn, and cheris him so mekill,
- That his chief chymys he had chevist to my sone,
- Suppos the churll wes gane chaist or the child wes gottin.[2]
Her Second Husband
edit
Her second marriage was to a wealthy merchant, whom she considered to be socially inferior.
- He maid me ryght hie reverens, fra he my rycht knew,
- For, thocht I say it myself, the severance wes mekle
- Betuix his bastard blude and my birth noble.
She intimidated the man with constant reminders of his supposedly low birth.
- I held ay grene into his mynd that I of grace tuk him,
- And for he couth ken himself I curtasly him lerit,
- He durst not sit anys my summondis, for or the secund charge,
- He wes ay redy for to ryn, so rad he wes for blame.
He is persuaded by her intimidation to will his property to her son.
- Yit tuk I nevir the wosp clene out of my wyde throte,
- Quhil I oucht wantit of my will or quhat I wald desir.
- Bot quhen I severit had that syre of substance in erd,
- And gottin his biggingis to my barne, and hie burrow landis,
- Than with a stew stert out the stoppell of my hals,
- That he all stunyst throu the stound, as of a stele wappin.
She continued to dominate her husband, whom she refers to as 'wife',
- I maid that wif carll to werk all womenis werkis,
- And laid all manly materis and mensk in this eird.
- Than said I to my cumaris in counsall about,
- Se how I cabeld yone cout with a kene brydill!
She obtained valuable possessions from him,
- He grathit me in a gay silk and gudly arrayis,
- In gownis of engranyt claith and gret goldin chenyeis,
- In ringis ryally set with riche ruby stonis,
She then promoted her own children while denigrating her husband's children.
- I buskit up my barnis like baronis sonnis,
- And maid bot fulis of the fry of his first wif.
She didn't mourn his death.
- Deid is now that dyvour and dollin in erd,
- With him deit all my dule and my drery thoghtis,
- Now done is my dolly nyght, my day is upsprungin,
- Adew dolour, adew! my daynté now begynis,
- Now am I a wedow, iwise, and weill am at ese.[2]
Her Widowhood
edit
Once widowed, she adopted traditional mourning customs, insincerely.
- My mouth it makis murnyng, and my mynd lauchis,
- My clokis thai ar caerfull in colour of sabill,
- Bot courtly and ryght curyus my corse is ther undir.
She took a secret lover.
- I have ane secrete servand, rycht sobir of his toung,
- That me supportis of sic nedis, quhen I a syne mak,
- Thoght he be sympill to the sicht; he has a tong sickir.
- Full mony semelyar sege wer service dois mak,
- Thought I haif cair, under cloke, the cleir day quhill nyght,
- Yit I have solace, under serk, quhill the sone ryse.
She receives suitors, but does not take them seriously.
- To every man in speciall I speik sum wordis,
- So wisly and so womanly, quhill warmys ther hertis.
- Thar is no liffand leid so law of degré,
- That sall me luf unluffit, I am so loik hertit.
- And gif his lust be so lent into my lyre quhit,
- That he be lost or with me lig, his lif sall nocht danger.
- I am so mercifull in mynd and menys all wichtis,
- My sely saull sal be saif, quhen sabot all jugis.
The widow ends her speech by encouraging her younger friends to learn from her experience.
- Ladyis leir thir lessonis and be no lassis fundin,
- This is the legeand of my lif, thought Latyne it be nane.[2]
The Conclusion
edit
The discussion ends with the married women acclaiming the widow as a good example for them:
- Quhen endit had her ornat speche, this eloquent wedow,
- Lowd thai lewch all the laif, and loffit hir mekle,
- And said thai suld exampill tak of her soverane teching,
- And wirk efter hir wordis, that woman wes so prudent.
The narrator departs for his home and ends the poem with the question,
- Of thir thre wantoun wiffis, that I haif writtin heir,
- Quhilk wald ye waill to your wif, gif ye suld wed one?[2]