Thomas Wyatt facts for kids
Sir Thomas Wyatt (born 1503, died 1542) was an important English poet and diplomat. He is famous for bringing the sonnet, a special 14-line poem, into the English language. People at the time saw him as a perfect example of a Renaissance man, meaning he was good at many things like being a soldier, a leader, a courtier (someone who serves in a royal court), and a poet.
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Early Life and Family
Thomas Wyatt was born in 1503 in a place called Allington, near Maidstone, Kent, England. His father was Henry Wyatt and his mother was Ann Skinner. Henry Wyatt was very loyal to King Henry VII of England. Because of this, Henry Wyatt held many important jobs in the King's court.
Thomas Wyatt went to St John's College, Cambridge, when he was 12 years old, from 1515 to 1522. In 1520, when he was 17, Wyatt married Elizabeth Brooke. She was the daughter of Lord Cobham. They had two children, a son named Thomas and a daughter named Bess. However, their marriage was not happy, and they eventually lived apart.
Working for the King
Wyatt started working at the royal court in 1516. His first job was as an attendant at the christening (a special ceremony) of Princess Mary. He likely got this job at a young age because his father had a very good reputation with the King. In 1524, Wyatt was put in charge of the King's jewels.
During these early years at court, Wyatt met Anne Boleyn. There were some rumors about them, but there is no clear proof they were in a romantic relationship.
Wyatt's Diplomatic Journeys
In 1526, Wyatt began his career as a diplomat, which means he represented England in other countries. He was sent to Paris, France, with Sir Thomas Cheney. Cheney thought highly of Wyatt, writing that he had "as much wit...as any young man hath in England."
A year later, Wyatt traveled to the Vatican in Rome and Venice, Italy. He went with Sir John Russell. It was probably during these trips that Wyatt became very interested in French and Italian poetry. While in Venice, Spanish soldiers captured Wyatt. They demanded a large sum of money, about 300,000 US dollars today, for his release. Luckily, Wyatt managed to escape before any money was paid.
From 1528 to 1530, Wyatt was a high-ranking official in the town of Calais. During this time, he continued to read and enjoy French and Italian poetry, especially the works of poets like Petrarch and Ludovico Ariosto. From 1530 to 1536, King Henry VIII sent Wyatt on many shorter diplomatic trips. In 1533, Wyatt represented his father at Anne Boleyn's coronation, when she became queen.
Challenges and Return to Favor
In 1534, Wyatt was briefly held in Fleet Prison for being involved in a fight in London. It was a minor issue, and he was released quickly.
However, in 1536, Anne Boleyn was arrested and later executed. She was accused of having other relationships while married to King Henry. Around the same time, Wyatt was also arrested and sent to the Tower of London. No clear reason was given for his arrest, but people rumored it was connected to Anne Boleyn. It is still not certain today if they had a relationship. Some of Wyatt's poems suggest they might have. After about a month, Wyatt was released from prison. He soon received several promotions, which showed that the King had either forgiven him or was not very upset with him in the first place. Wyatt then became the Sheriff of Kent.
In 1537, Wyatt was made a knight. He was then sent to Spain to work in an embassy. His job in Spain was to improve the relationship between the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, and King Henry VIII of England. Emperor Charles V was unhappy because King Henry had divorced his aunt, Catherine of Aragon. This diplomatic mission did not go well. Sir Thomas Wyatt and the other diplomats were not successful. One of the other diplomats, Edmund Bonner, disliked Wyatt and accused him of treason (betraying the king). These accusations were cleared by Thomas Cromwell, who was a chief minister to Henry VIII and often helped Wyatt.
In May 1539, Wyatt returned to London. In 1540, Thomas Cromwell was arrested and executed. Without Cromwell's protection, Bonner again had Wyatt arrested for treason. King Henry VIII, who liked Wyatt, released him. However, the King made a condition: Wyatt had to return to his wife.
After regaining the King's favor, Wyatt was sent on more missions to France and Flanders. In 1542, he was chosen to be a member of Parliament for Kent. On October 3, 1542, Wyatt was traveling to bring a Spanish ambassador from Dorset to London. He became very ill during the journey and died three days later in Sherborne, Dorset. He was buried on October 11, 1542. Some poets wrote special poems called elegies to mourn Wyatt's death. One famous elegy was by his friend Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who wrote: "Wyatt resteth here, that quick could never rest."
Wyatt's Writings
Wyatt wrote many different kinds of poems, including sonnets, songs, lyric poems, and rondeaux. A rondeau is a specific type of poem with 13 lines and two rhyming sounds. It also repeats the beginning of the first line later in the poem.
Sonnets and Other Forms
Sonnets are poems with 14 lines. Today, we usually talk about two main types: English (or Shakespearean) sonnets and Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets. Petrarchan sonnets are named after the Italian poet Petrarch. They are divided into an eight-line section (called an octave) and a six-line section (called a sestet). Wyatt translated many of Petrarch's poems into English.
Wyatt was the first to use the sonnet form that we now call the Shakespearean sonnet. This type of sonnet has 14 lines, grouped into three four-line sections (quatrains) and a final two-line section (couplet). William Shakespeare came after Wyatt, but he used this sonnet form so often that it was named after him instead of Wyatt.
Wyatt's songs, sonnets, and other poems were usually about love. Most of his works were not published while he was alive. The ones that were published often did not have his name on them. Ninety-six of Wyatt's songs were published along with Surrey's work in a book called Songes and Sonettes, Written by the Ryght Honorable Lorde Henry Haward Late Earle of Surrey, and Other. This book was published in 1557 and is now commonly known as Tottel's Miscellany. He wrote about 200 songs, and a common theme in them was how he felt mistreated by the person he loved. Wyatt wrote 31 sonnets, and ten of these were translations from Petrarch.
Wyatt also wrote three satires (poems that make fun of something) and a series of seven penitential psalms (religious poems). Both his psalms and satires used a form called terza rima. Wyatt was the first to use terza rima in English. This form uses sets of three lines that rhyme in a specific pattern (like aba bcb cdc). He also brought ottava rima to English, which is a set of eight lines with a specific rhyme pattern. Because he introduced so many different poetic forms to English, a writer named George Puttenham called Wyatt "one of two chief lanterns of light" for future English poets in 1598. The other "lantern" was the Earl of Surrey.
Wyatt's Legacy
Wyatt's work was not read as much in the 17th century, but it became popular again in the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, Tottel’s Miscellany was seen as the start of English poetry that was influenced by Italian styles. However, readers in the 18th and 19th centuries often thought Wyatt's poems were not as good as those by Shakespeare or Sidney, who wrote later. They also preferred Surrey's poetry over Wyatt's, even after learning that Wyatt's came first. For example, Thomas Warton wrote in 1781 that Wyatt was "confessedly inferior to Surrey." This view changed in the 20th century, especially between the two World Wars. Today, many experts believe Wyatt was the better poet.
Images for kids
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Portrait of Sir Thomas Wyatt
