Notes. This couplet alludes to earlier violent fantasies of Buckingham’s death that also used the metaphor of the hunt to imagine the destruction of the “Buck-in-game” (see, e.g., “Of Brittish Beasts the Buck is King” and “To hunt the Doe I have refu’sd”). The sole extant copy of this couplet is in William Davenport’s commonplace book.

Thus Buck-in-game,1 Felt-one2 did soone abate

his pryde; the troble, off our English state

Source. CCRO MS CR 63/2/19, fol. 71r

Pi7

¹   Buck-in-game: the pun is on the buck, or male deer, being hunted (in the game), and Buckingham. <back>

²   Felt-one: i.e. Felton. The couplet’s logic and transcription demand this be read as a pun. One possible reading of the pun would force us to paraphrase the couplet thus: “Thus Buck-in-game, being felt (here meaning something like ‘detected’), one man did soon abate his pride, which had been the trouble of our English state”. <back>