Farwell love and all thy laws forever By Sir Thomas Wyatt Lecture 3 Farwell love and all thy laws forever By Sir Thomas Wyatt

1 Farewell, Love, and all thy laws for ever:  2 Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more.  3 Senec and Plato call me from thy lore,  4 To perfect wealth my wit for to endeavour.  5 In blind error when I did persever,  6 Thy sharp repulse, that pricketh aye so sore,  7 Hath taught me to set in trifles no store,  8 And scape forth, since liberty is lever.   9 Therefore farewell, go trouble younger hearts,  10 And in me claim no more authority;  11 With idle youth go use thy property,  12 And thereon spend thy many brittle darts.  13 For, hitherto though I've lost my time,  14 Me lusteth no longer rotten boughs to climb. 

Personification: “Farewell, Love” Love “laws” Farewell, Love, and all thy laws for ever:  Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more.  Rejection of love Personification: “Farewell, Love” Love “laws” Metaphor: “Thy baited hooks … “ (love is a beast with hooks that tangle the speaker)

Senec and Plato call me from thy lore,  To perfect wealth my wit for to endeavour. Lore: learning/knowledge Perfect wealth: well-being in mind (not in money) Wit: wisdom Endeavour: attempt to achieve something To submit to Love is to be witless. Thus the speaker characterizes Love as something that should be reserved for the uneducated, and that those who sharpen their minds will not be dumb enough to fall prey to it.

Summary of the first quatrain: The poet bids farewell to love and it’s conventions because it fascinated him no more. The beauty and charm of love are likened to a “baited hook” that keeps the lover restless and in pain to lose the spirit of knowledge. Love is, therefore, treated as a deception, a fancy that cheats.

In blind error when I did persever,  Thy sharp repulse, that pricketh aye so sore,  Hath taught me to set in trifles no store,  And scape forth, since liberty is lever.   Metaphor: Blind error (love is blind, love is a mistake) Persever(e): to keep at/ work hard Thy Sharp repulse: his lover’s harsh response/rejection Pricketh (prick): sharp pain/ a puncture made by a needle Aye: yes Trifles: “a false or idle tale told to deceive, cheat, or befool.” (metaphor: love is a trifle) The poet is suggesting that love is, thus, worthless. Lever: desirable/ preferable

Summary of the second quatrain The poet explains that he worshipped his beloved without any favorable response from her. He had faith in love which made him persist in his wooing efforts, yet he met with a cruel rejection from his lover which was too painful for him. He concludes that love is blind and deceitful, and that freedom/liberty is much more worthy than being tangled as such.

Personification: younger hearts (people/youth) 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.  Personification: younger hearts (people/youth) Idle youth: immature youth Use thy property: be yourself Brittle: fragile/weak Darts: arrows The poet is saying that only immature youth can be trapped by love. He has passed that stage of immaturity and, therefore, the arrows of cupid can have no effect on him.

The poet feels he is too old, and possibly too emotionally tired, to be bothered by love. He says that Love is for young people who still have the strength to sustain the troubles that Love inflicts. Love’s “arrows” are hard but can be easily broken. They don’t have any effect on the poet, but can only penetrate the hearts of the immature youth.

For, hitherto though I've lost my time,  Me lusteth no longer rotten boughs to climb.  Hitherto: until now Lusteth (lust): want/desire The poet regrets that he has wasted his life in the pursuit of love as he gained nothing but pain. Metaphor: rotten boughs to climb