The Complete Poems

by Thomas Wyatt, Ronald A. Rebholz (editor)

As a diplomat in Renaissance Europe, and a luminary at the court of Henry VII, Sir Thomas Wyatt wrote in an incestuous world where everyone was uneasily subject to the royal whims and rages. Wyatt had himself survived two imprisonments in the Tower as well as a love affair with Anne Boleyn, and his poetry - that of an extraordinarily sophisticated, passionate and vulnerable man - reflects these experiences, making disguised reference to current political events. Above all, though, Wyatt is known for his love poetry, which often dramatizes incidents and remembered conversations with his beloved, with an ear acutely sensitive to patterns of rhythm and colloquial speech. Conveying the actuality of betrayal or absence, and the intense pressure of his longing for a love that could be trusted, these are some of the most haunting poems in the English language.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Renaissance, Literature, 16th Century, Fiction, British Literature

560 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1981

About the author

Noted English diplomat and poet Sir Thomas Wyatt or Thomas Wyat introduced the sonnet form into English literature.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...

Reviews

[Harper Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liberty is lever.

Wyatt is a master who introduced the Renaissance sonnet, among other things. He is a poet of wit and originality. You can read more about him here: http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/a...

Here is his Sonnet XXXI (from p. 87)

Farewell, Love, and all thy laws forever.
Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more.
Senec and Plato call me from thy lore
To perfect wealth my wit for to endeavour.
In blind error when I did persevere,
Thy sharp repulse that pricketh ay so sore
Hath taught me to set in trifles no store
And scape forth since liberty is lever.
Therefore farewell. Go trouble younger hearts
And in me claim no more authority.
With idle youth go use thy property
And thereon spend thy many brittle darts:
For hitherto though I have lost all my time,
Me lusteth no longer rotten boughs to climb.

[Liam Guilar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far too much tudor pine and most of it dreary, but every now and then a stunning unforgettable poem...Wyatt probably wrote three or four of the great lyrics in English, which i wouldn't do without, and perhaps a couple of fine long poems and some lighter entertaining pieces. But wading through his complete output is not an endearing experience.

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wyatt is mainly morose/belligerent about unhappy loves. I like how he denounces the vanity/hypocrisy of courtiers.

[Alyssa]

The complete poetry of my 16th great-uncle. Will have to get ASAP.

[Erin Zelnio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this four stars for the editor, who had one heck of a task with this tedious material. 250+ versions of "Bitch Did Me Wrong," with a slight deviation to "Dear God, It's Me Tom. Sorry I'm Such a Dick". The one poem where Wyatt whines about his friends making fun of him for complaining all the time sticks out, though. Nice to know even his contemporaries though he needed to get over himself.

[Jacky Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The political undercurrents masked and negotiated via Wyatt's spectacularly multiple forms excites me. It's also worth saying that Rebholz's editing is exemplary: this is what editing should be, source hunting ALONGSIDE rather than IN PLACE OF elucidation of meaning and critical summary and interpretation.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

"He always seems to be in love with a woman he hates," says CS Lewis. "My sympathy deserts my own sex; I can see how disagreeable it would be to have a lover like Wyatt." I can't think of much better to say about this guy that what Lewis says: he writes some good lines, but most of it seems like morose half metrical misogyny.

Was never man but I alone
That had such hap to wail and groan,

Is a pretty fair representative sample. He's interesting mostly historically: his Psalms, the satire to "Mine own John Poyntz," and "They Flee From Me" (the ones that get anthologized) are very much worth the reading. Other than that, he's historically fascinating, and that does a lot to make up for the tedium.

[globulon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read a scanned ecopy of Wyatt's poems.

I got excited about him reading a few anthologized poems and thought I would try to read more of him. Uhhg. Most of his stuff is tedious repetitious and stale. Bad rymes, awful sentiment. This one is best left to anthologizers to pick through for the crumbs of goodness.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not have to read the entire book, we only had to read 15 of his poems for class, they were interesting to read but they will never be among my favorite poems. The most interesting thing for me was the fact the author was among those jailed in the tower with Queen Anne Boleyn under suspicion of adultery. He was acquitted, and later died of an illness.

[Michael Goldsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the Carcanet selected poetry of John Skelton and the Earl of Surrey it's easy to see why Thomas Wyatt is considered the greatest of the early 16th century (or Tudor court) poets. His verse and metre are livelier than the others, though I confess that sometimes reading through a 'complete poetry' of ballads and songs about love in all its forms can sometimes get reptitive.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pain! The longing! The heartache! The pining! Turns out I really am a sucker for all of it. When I thought it couldn’t possibly be more of it, and that it couldn’t possibly be better written, I turned the page and was once again blown away. I loved more or less every second I spent reading this book, re-reading my favourite parts over and over again. 10/10 would recommend.

[WILLIAM SEATON · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essay "Every Reader's Wyatt is posted at http://williamseaton.blogspot.com/201....

[Roman Clodia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sir Thomas Wyatt grew up at the court of Henry VIII and *allegedly* fell in love with Anne Boleyn. A diplomat, an ambassador to the Italian and French courts, he was sophisticated, worldly and ambitious - and yet his poetry paints a very different picture of a man vulnerable, divided and suffering.

I disagree with the Penguin blurb that this is autobiographical verse, as I think Wyatt is far more sophisticated a writer than that - and anyway, the idea of writing autobiographical poetry simply didn't exist in the Renaissance. But whether it reflects his real-life emotions or not, his poetry contains a haunting quality of anguished rawness that makes him suprisingly modern.

Rebholz's edition is modernised in terms of spelling and punctuation but is still recognised as one of the most reliable scholarly texts. Helpfully he divides the poems attributed to Wyatt during his lifetime from those attributed to him afterwards, and has extensive notes on sources, glossary etc.

[Katherine Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely collection of his works, I agree that some don't scan well but think it should be borne in mind that a fair amount of early poetry doesn't scan well maybe due to changes in language and also other factors.

LXIII is probably my favourite of his works.

The only annoyance is the book is half Wyatts work and half notations but unfortunately you can't get his work without them.

[Grace 🎻 · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Whoso lists to Hount' is by far my favourite.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been a go to of mine for many years. Great example of Elizabethan Poetry and just an outright pleasure to read.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read about this fabulous Elizabethan poet, on Sir Francis Bacon's essays' introduction.
I went for his complete poems and just couldn't stop reading. He's marvelous!
The author was somewhat involved with the probably fake Anne Boleyn's accusation of adultery.
He was acquitted.
And I think his poems are great examples of the brevity, yet absolutely perfect renaissance poetical specimens.
You should read Wyatt. Now. 4. 5 Stars.