Tudor and Elizabethan Poetry1 Sir Thomas Wyatt 21503-15423

Apuntes

Tudor and Elizabethan Poetry: Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542) Suffised not (Madame) that you did teare My wofull hart, but thus also to rent The weping paper that to you I sent, Wherof eche letter was written with a teare. Could not my present paines, alas, suffise Your greedy hart? and that my hart doth fele Tormentes that prick more sharper then the stele, But new and new must to my lot arise? Use then my death. So shal your cruelty, Spite of your spite rid me from all my smart, And I no more such tormentes of the hart Fele as I do. This shalt thou gain thereby. This poem expresses a speaker's anguish after being rejected by a lady. Wyatt uses the extended metaphor of the torn paper to illustrate how not only was his heart metaphorically shredded, but the physical token of his suffering—a love letter—was destroyed as well. His pain is deep and ongoing, and he accuses the woman of cruelty for not being satisfied with the suffering she has already caused. In the final lines, he suggests that his death would be a victory for her cruelty, as it would end his torment and satisfy her "greedy heart." This poem reflects the Renaissance theme of courtly love turned bitter and desperate. I fy...