TITLE. In MS. B., the poem is entitled, 'The Complaynte vnto Pyte,' which
is right. In MS. Trin., there is a colophon--'Here endeth the exclamacioun
of the Deth of Pyte'; see p. 276. In MS. Sh. (in Shirley's handwriting) the
poem is introduced with the following words--'And nowe here filowing
[_following_] begynnethe a complaint of Pitee, made by Geffray Chaucier the
aureat Poete that euer was fonde in oure vulgare to-fore hees [_for_
thees?] dayes.' The first stanza may be considered as forming a Proem;
stanzas 2-8, the Story; and the rest, the Bill of Complaint. The title 'A
complaint of Pitee' is not necessarily incorrect; for _of_ may be taken in
the sense of 'concerning,' precisely as in the case of 'The Vision of Piers
the Plowman.' As to the connection of this poem with the Thebaid of
Statius, see notes to ll. 57 and 92.
1. I do not follow Ten Brink in putting a comma after _so_. He says: 'That
_so_ refers to the verb [_sought_] and not to _yore ago_, is evident from
l. 3. Compare the somewhat different l. 93.' I hope it shews no disrespect
to a great critic if I say that I am not at all confident that the above
criticism is correct; l. 93 rather tells against it. Observe the reading of
l. 117 in MS. Sh. (in the footnotes, p. 276).