West-Country Damosel's Complaint, The [Child 292]

DESCRIPTION: The girl begs William to marry her; if he will not, she bids him kill her. He callously tells her to live in the greenwood. She tries, but at last begs her sister for alms. The sister drives her away. Willie finds her dead and mourns his cruelty
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1695
KEYWORDS: courting abandonment poverty death sister love
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Child 292, "The West-Country Damosel's Complaint" (1 text)
Olson-BroadsideBalladIndex, ZN2899, "When will you Marry me William"
Roud #3959
NOTES [40 words]: Child is of the opinion that this is a composite piece, with the first eleven stanzas being popular and the remaining thirteen being literary. As both the tone and the rhyme scheme change in the final stanzas, he is quite possibly correct. - RBW
File: C292

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