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“TAGUS, FAREWELL” (“OF HIS RETURNE
FROM SPAIN”) SIR THOMAS WYATT (1539) SIR
THOMAS WYATT probably wrote this poem in 1539,
when HENRY VIII fi nally granted him permission to
return home to England after a long diplomatic sojourn
in Spain. The only manuscript version of this poem is
believed to be in Wyatt’s own hand. The poem, which
is titled “In Spain” in the manuscript, appeared in print
for the fi rst time in TOTTEL’S MISCELLANY as “Of his
returne from Spain” (1557), but it is called “Tagus,
Farewell” in most modern collections.
In this poem, an almost dreamy quality replaces the
biting humor and sharp political commentary typical
of Wyatt’s earlier lyrics and satires. The speaker, like
the river Tagus’s “grains of gold already tried” (l. 1),
has been honed by his experiences in the courts of
Henry VIII and the continental monarchs. He seems
able now to integrate his identities of poet and court-
ier, a balance that is refl ected in the poem’s structure.
His wish to “go seek the Thames / Gainward the sun
that shew’th her wealthy pride” (ll. 3–4) stands in
counterpoint to his description of London, curving
around the Thames in a crescent, as “the town that
Brutus sought by dreams, / Like bended moon doth
lend her lusty side” (ll. 5–6). The complementary
images of sun and moon, gold and silver suggest an
acceptance of the complexity inherent in Wyatt’s dual
role as poet and courtier. The mention of Brutus recalls
the rich Roman heritage of Britain but also recalls the
brutality of Rome’s rule.

The balance and the symmetry of the poem, how-

ever, do not always help to clarify Wyatt’s characteris-

tic ambiguity, nor do they mean that the poem is

without tension. The publisher Richard Tottel made

changes to the poem that merely draw attention to that

tension, the most signifi cant being a rearrangement of

the fi nal COUPLET. In Wyatt’s original, these lines read,

“My king, my country, alone for whom I live / O mighty

love the wings for this me give” (ll. 7–8), suggesting

that Wyatt’s patriotism is his sole motivation. A num-

ber of critics have noted the startling omission of God

from the list. Tottel’s revision of these lines rectifi es

this oversight: “My king, my country, I seek for whom

I live, / O mighty Jove, the winds for this me give.”

This alteration provides the added impetus of reli-

gion—but also adds a questing note. The substitution

of “I seek” for “alone” recalls the Wyatt of the SATIREs

and lyrics, always restlessly seeking and questioning,

constantly trying to reconcile the demands of political

service with the dictates of his conscience.

FURTHER READING

Mason, H. A. Humanism and Poetry in the Early Tudor Period.

London: Routledge/Paul, 1959.

Carol D. Blosser

TAIL RHYME (CAUDATE RHYME) A tail

rhyme is a scheme in which rhyming lines are followed

by a tail—a line of shorter length with a different

rhyme. The tails then rhyme with each other to form a

T