Burning Ice? The Contradictions of Sir Thomas Wyatt

Sir Thomas Wyatt the elder writes with the distinctive wisdom of someone who has lived and loved. Although most of his poems are translations of Petrarch's sonnets, Wyatt imparts his own feelings and ideas into the works. As with any translation, it is difficult to do a direct word-to-word change without bending the words and grabbing at synonyms to fit a personal belief for the meaning of the work.

Wyatt's sonnet "I Find No Peace" is an interesting poem which portrays for the reader the conflicting feelings brought about by love. Wasting no space, the speaker begins with the first contradiction by saying “I find no peace, and all my war is done,”. As the reader continues, the poem offers similarly opposing phrases in every line. We read of how he "fly above the wind, yet can I not arise," and "without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain;". The clue to unraveling the poem lies in the last line, where the speaker says "And my delight is causer of this strife." Or, as the modern translation puts it, "In this state am I, Lady, on account of you." The speaker of the poem is tormented with his love, not truly held prisoner by the one he loves, yet completely captive by her every whim. He hopes for her love in the future and yet fears what will happen (596).

As with most of Wyatt's sonnets, the speaker here is driven by love, but not a sweet, unassuming love. The love we find between the lines of "I Find No Peace" is passionate and complicated.


Wyatt's poem "Whoso list to Hunt" likewise echoes love throughout its lines. The initial theme of the sonnet may appear to be hunting, as several references are made to deer. Then end of the poem, however, gives the poem a slightly more personal feel and causes the reader to consider that the speaker is in fact talking about a women. The end of the poem reads:

And graven with diamonds in letters plain
There is written, her fair neck round about,
"Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame (595)."

In line four the speaker makes reference to "falling behind" the other hunters. As he pursues her, she only flees further, and his wearied attempts are coming to an end. The speaker's desire for her is strong, and it carries him far, yet he finally comes to the conclusion that finding her love is as difficult as "in a net I seek to hold the wind". Furthermore his efforts are bested by a person of power, likened to Caesar. The words "Noli me tangere" are latin for "touch me not". [1] The words then engraven about her neck signify her allegiance to another. Touch me not, for Caesar's I am.

Some have suggested that the poem is actually about Anne Boleyn who, although Wyatt may have pursued her with his love, was conquered by Henry VIII. [2] The sonnet is also a derivation of one of Petrarch's sonnets, yet as we read the modern translation we see that each
poem has been colored by the author's feelings.

[1] The translation of "noli me tangere". Taken from http://www.answers.com/topic/noli-me-tangere
[2] Copy of the poem and notes, courtesy of luminarium. Taken from http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/whosolist.htm.