The Pain and Sorrow of Evil Marriage

This volume brings together three little‑known Tudor pamphlets that poke fun at the institution of marriage. Printed in the 1530s by the pioneering London press of Wynkyn de Worde, the verses were originally circulated as satirical warnings about marrying too soon, marrying too late, and the outright hardships of an ill‑chosen match. A modern scholarly introduction explains the historical context, the mix of English and borrowed French phrasing, and the amusing wood‑cut that once crowned the title page.

The centerpiece, “The Pain and Sorrow of Evil Marriage,” follows a newlywed narrator as he recounts the first week of wedded life, describing his wife’s relentless teasing and the sudden flood of domestic woes that follow. Written in lively eight‑line stanzas with a playful rhyme scheme, the poem balances genuine concern with rib‑tickling exaggeration, giving listeners a vivid glimpse of 16th‑century marital anxieties. The reprint preserves the original spelling and meter, allowing the listener to hear the period language unfold as it was meant to be read aloud.