An innovative experimenter with verse forms, Wyatt
has been credited with introducing (or re-introducing)
the ITALIAN (PETRARCHAN) SONNET into English verse.
Although he has been accused of dry formalism in some
of his lyrics, his best works—such as “THEY FLEE FROM
ME,” “MY LUTE AWAKE!,” and “FAREWELL LOVE, AND ALL
THY LAWS FOR EVER!”—bring a sense of vivid immediacy
to the lover’s experience. The majority of Wyatt’s poems
engage critically with the tradition of COURTLY LOVE,
charting the psychological anguish of the unsatisfi ed
lover and his search for intellectual and emotional sta-
bility. The relationship of Wyatt’s biography to the per-
sonal “I” of his lyric poetry has often been explored.
Tradition holds that Wyatt was the lover of Anne
Boleyn: “SOMETIME I FLED THE FIRE” and “WHOSO LIST
TO HUNT” are often thought to refer to Anne, and she
may also have been the “Brunet” mentioned in the son-
net “If Waker Care” (probably intended as a tribute to
his mistress, Elizabeth Darrell), but there is no conclu-
sive evidence either way. Wyatt’s relationship to differ-
ent Christian traditions has also been examined. His
poetic paraphrases of the penitential Psalms were much
admired by his contemporaries.
Historically, Wyatt has been linked with his younger
contemporary, HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SURREY. George
Puttenham in The Arte of English Poesie (1589) saw
these men as the chieftains of a new company of courtly
makars (poets), a view which accords with the atten-
tion given to their poetry in Tottel’s Songes and Son-
nettes of 1557 (better known as TOTTEL’S MISCELLANY).
Surrey’s reputation overshadowed Wyatt’s in the 19th
century, but there has been a revival of interest in
Wyatt since the 20th century as his psychological real-
ism and bracing, choppy rhythms have generally been
preferred to the smoother, more “artifi cial” lyrics of his
counterpart.
FURTHER READING
Harrier, Richard. The Canon of Sir Thomas Wyatt’s Poetry.
Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1975.
Jentoft, Clyde W. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl
of Surrey: A Reference Guide. Edited by Everett Emerson.
Boston, Mass: Hall, 1980.
Muir, Kenneth. Life and Letters of Sir Thomas Wyatt. Liver-
pool, U.K.: Liverpool University Press, 1963.
Elizabeth Evershed
“WYATT RESTETH HERE” HENRY HOWARD,
EARL OF SURREY (1542) HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF
SURREY composed this epitaph for SIR THOMAS WYATT
the elder upon Wyatt’s death in October 1542, and the
poem appeared in print for the fi rst time that autumn.
It was the only one of Surrey’s poems to be published
during his lifetime; two other poems by Surrey on
Wyatt (“The great Macedon” and “Diverse thy death do
diversely moan”) circulated in manuscript in the court
of HENRY VIII. Richard Tottel printed all three poems
with many of Wyatt’s poems in his landmark poetic
miscellany, Songes and Sonnettes, afterward known as
TOTTEL’S MISCELLANY (1557). Although critics have long
disputed the exact nature of the relationship between
Surrey and Wyatt, the elegies indicate that the two
poets were at least casually acquainted and that Surrey
deeply admired the older poet’s skill and reputation as
a courtier and diplomat.
As several critics have noted, “Wyatt resteth here”
differs signifi cantly from Surrey’s other poems and
even from his other elegies, such as his tribute to his
deceased squire and friend, Thomas Clere (“Norfolk
sprang thee”). Instead of a statement of personal loss,
the stanzas present a BLAZON, or catalogue, of Wyatt’s
physical traits and virtues. Surrey praises Wyatt’s “hed”
(l. 5), “hand” (l. 13), and “tongue” (l. 17) among other
parts, arguing that the departed poet used his poetic
skill, good judgment, and moral strength for the good
of his king and country and to inspire England’s young
people “unto fame” (l. 20).
Only in the fi nal STANZA and closing COUPLET does
the speaker use fi rst-person pronouns, and there they
are plural: Wyatt was a witness “sent for our health,
but not received so” (l. 36) and a “jewel we have lost”
(l. 37). These lines and the opening mention of the
“profi t” Wyatt “by envy could obtain” (l. 4) refer
obliquely to Wyatt’s political enemies, some of whom
seem to have been Surrey’s opponents as well. By stat-
ing that Wyatt’s “heavenly gifts increased by disdain”
(l. 2), Surrey suggests that Wyatt was not defeated but
instead made stronger by his experiences with these
adversaries. However, the poem criticizes all of Wyatt’s
contemporaries, not only his foes, for not appreciating
the poet or his poems enough.“WYATT RESTETH HERE” 479