In the following excerpt, Greenblatt analyzes the “intimate relationship between Wyatt's poetry and the forces that shape his identity,” notably politics, religion, and sexuality.
In the essay below, originally published in the second volume of Nott's 1815-16 edition of The Works of Henry Howard Earl of Surrey and of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, the critic charges that Wyatt lacked originality and skill with language. In the endnotes following this essay, Nott's original notes appear within parentheses; all others are Thomson's.
In the following essay, Holahan argues that Wyatt's translations of Petrarch's works altered them from private love poems to public declarations of allegiance.
In the essay which follows, Simpson contends that Wyatt and Surrey were writers operating within specific literary traditions, rather than the radical innovators they are often depicted to be.
In the following essay, Kay analyzes the Chaucerian elements in Wyatt's “They flee from me,” in an effort to understand the effect of the poem on its original audience.
In the following essay, Glaser argues that Wyatt's choice of Petrarchan sonnets realistically reflects the moral beliefs of the late Renaissance period.
In the essay below, Daalder explores the influence of Seneca on Wyatt, arguing that “Wyatt is the first major Senecan among Renaissance writers in England.” The first part of this essay, which first appeared in 1973, is reprinted above.
In the following essay, Daalder examines the numerous appearances of the word “liberty” throughout Wyatt's works and maintains that the word is charged with “a profound emotional significance” for the poet and “indicates a psychological freedom from nervous tension.” A postscript to this essay, published in 1985, is reprinted below under that date.
In the following review of Muir and Thomson's updated edition of Wyatt's Collected Poems, the reviewer discusses newly discovered poems from the Blage manuscript.
In the following poems, Surrey pays homage to his friend Wyatt. The first three derive from undated manuscripts; the fourth was printed in 1542 under the title An excellent Epitaffe of syr Thomas Wyat.
In the following excerpt, which was originally published in Tottel's Songs and Sonettes, written by the ryght honorable Lorde Henry Haward late Earle of Surrey, and other, the printer credits Wyatt with helping improve the beauty and power of the English language.