Context of WSLTHIKWISH Flashcards
Courtly Love
Love between a knight and a married noblewoman.
What was the marriage like the 1500s?
Marriage was not related to love, it was often to socially advance. Love would have been pre-marital, or extra-marital.
What was the purpose of sex in the 1500s?
Sex was for the purpose of male lineage, had nothing to do with pleasure or love.
Who was Petrarch?
A poet who was the father of the sonnet. He wrote ‘The White Deer’, which inspired Wyatt. His poems often follow the trope of unrequited love, such as his love for Laura. He was inspired by Ovid’s story of Apollo and Daphne.
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo falls in love with Daphne, but Daphne has been hit with an arrow of repulsion. He still chases her, and attempts to rape her, but Daphne is saved by being turned into a tree.
Thomas Wyatt’s Life
He was an ambassador to France and Italy for King Henry VIII. He travelled a lot, exposing him to different forms of poetry. He did not publish any of his poetry. He also became ambassador to the court of Charles V in later life. He was imprisoned twice in his life.
Thomas Wyatt and Anne Boleyn
He was rumoured to be Anne Boleyn’s lover, he spent a month in the Tower of London before Anne was executed for adultery. This poem is rumoured to be about Anne.
How does the poem allude to the Bible?
In the Bible, Mary Magdelene, having mistaken the resurrected Jesus as a gardener, finally recognises him. She then says ‘noli me tangere’. Jesus responds by telling her to ‘render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s’.
