Loving so much this series!!! I really like how you present the poet, not only with basic biographical info but with anecdotes that allow us to get a broader picture of them, and the analysis in detail of the poems is the cherry on top! Thank you!!!
Thanks for this, very enjoyable, I love Elizabethan poetry - all those perfectly wrought urns so rich in literary/classical allusion & discursive/imagist language. Really appreciated your spotlight on one of my favourites.
Really glad to hear you love Elizabethan poetry! They’re definitely rich in language. I have so much more to learn. Thank you - glad you liked the video :)
Thanks for a video on a poet I have not thought of since college! Hearing his poem after so many years showed me how little I understood the Elizabethians back then.
Really enjoy your video on Sir Thomas Wyatt. I find you reading from Wolf Hall and your analysis very interesting. I find Cromwell's observation of Thomas Wyatt so detailed, like he really paid so much attention to him. I wonder in our everyday life if we pay that much attention or observation on other people, perhaps on some people but certainly not on everyone. And your comment on Thomas Wyatt as a childlike innocent narcissistic figure makes me think of an occasion when I saw a child doing some kind of dance or may be simply some unplanned continuous jerky movements in front of a mirror. She was looking at the mirror, but at the same time, like she was not aware of it at the same time. She was so engrossed in what she was doing and hence so unself-consciously, like she was in her own world and not aware of her surroundings at all. I also wish Sir Thomas Wyatt had some kind of love for Anne Bolyne. It would be so pointless or meaningless to lose your head for a charge that he never committed. But if it really was some kind of love, would he be regretting to have to lose his head for it especially when he was languishing in prison and as you pointed out, he apparently could have witness the beheading of Anne Bolyne. The poems of Sir Thomas Wyatt are about courtly love, which has no bearing of real love but this is the kind of love the Tudor court glorified. Put your love interest on a pedestal and feel yourself not worthy of her and yet keep seeking for just a crumb of affection and steadfast hoping for more. The more she rejects you or is unattainable, the more you pine for her and the more you woo her. It glorifies unrequited love. The more one is rejected and the more hopelessness the situation but still stay steadfast in your love, the greater prove the trueness of one's love and devotion. They Flee From Me does remind me of John Donne's poems. The poem you read before, Go, and Catch A Falling Star, has a similar theme, the fickleness of a woman's heart. Same as Orsinio's misogynistic speech in response to the indifference of Olivia in Act 2 scene 4 in Twelfth Night. It echoes with the Renaissance view of a woman's heart. Women were weaker vessels and not worthy as men. Women did not have passion as in the seat of liver but had appetite, i.e., bodily craving so the palate (just a taste) so easily satisfied and changing all the time and seeking new targets (refer to Arden's notes). Of course, we do not believe this, for men and women can both be fickle or steadfast depends on the individual person and different love interest. I never think one should refer to historical fiction to search for clues to support historical facts. There is always a kernel of truth in fictions but the truth really lies in human nature portrayed, which remains the same at all different ages in history. Sometimes the historical fictions are sourced from rumors or popular beliefs, obviously not known as historical facts. But the fact is the history which we state as fact can be indeed be fact, but we also know how history can be twisted and edited or can be interpreted in different ways by different historians, depending on their perspectives. That's always the pitfall we need to aware of. Look at history in a modern perspective or knowledge can also color our views of history. I also find historical fictions, especially those written by women, tend to put a modern twist to the women characters, like making them take action and make decisions, (even those actions and decisions coincided with historical facts we know,) with a modern mentality. A modern woman, so iis strong and independent, she knows her own heart and choose her path in life as best as she could, facing the constraints of the age. Philippe Gregory has been doing that all the time. She is writing these women characters to appeal to the modern readers, mainly women of today. You can not seriously think all these women reacted and responded with that modern mentality unless they were all ahead of their times, which is unbelievable. Just some thoughts of mine after watching your video. Always look forward for your next video.
Lovely story about the child dancing in front of the mirror. I wasn’t very clear about Thomas Wyatt’s death in the video sorry. He was imprisoned for committing adulatory with Anne Boleyn. She was executed but he wasn’t. He died a bit later on. Just want to clarify :) Interesting you link They Flee From Me and Go and Catch a Falling Star and Orsino’s speech together and look at them side by side! Thanks for your thoughtful comment as always!
Loving so much this series!!! I really like how you present the poet, not only with basic biographical info but with anecdotes that allow us to get a broader picture of them, and the analysis in detail of the poems is the cherry on top! Thank you!!!
Thank you :) so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Thanks for this, very enjoyable, I love Elizabethan poetry - all those perfectly wrought urns so rich in literary/classical allusion & discursive/imagist language. Really appreciated your spotlight on one of my favourites.
Really glad to hear you love Elizabethan poetry! They’re definitely rich in language. I have so much more to learn.
Thank you - glad you liked the video :)
Thanks for a video on a poet I have not thought of since college! Hearing his poem after so many years showed me how little I understood the Elizabethians back then.
Pleasure!
I really enjoyed your reading and love that you paired it with a poem that relates so well. Such an interesting post!
Thank you :) Glad you enjoyed it!
I enjoyed your discussion on Wyatt. I know of him through Wolf Hall so was happy to hear the reading
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :)
So lovely! 🥰
Thank you!
Really enjoy your video on Sir Thomas Wyatt.
I find you reading from Wolf Hall and your analysis very interesting. I find Cromwell's observation of Thomas Wyatt so detailed, like he really paid so much attention to him. I wonder in our everyday life if we pay that much attention or observation on other people, perhaps on some people but certainly not on everyone.
And your comment on Thomas Wyatt as a childlike innocent narcissistic figure makes me think of an occasion when I saw a child doing some kind of dance or may be simply some unplanned continuous jerky movements in front of a mirror. She was looking at the mirror, but at the same time, like she was not aware of it at the same time. She was so engrossed in what she was doing and hence so unself-consciously, like she was in her own world and not aware of her surroundings at all.
I also wish Sir Thomas Wyatt had some kind of love for Anne Bolyne. It would be so pointless or meaningless to lose your head for a charge that he never committed. But if it really was some kind of love, would he be regretting to have to lose his head for it especially when he was languishing in prison and as you pointed out, he apparently could have witness the beheading of Anne Bolyne.
The poems of Sir Thomas Wyatt are about courtly love, which has no bearing of real love but this is the kind of love the Tudor court glorified. Put your love interest on a pedestal and feel yourself not worthy of her and yet keep seeking for just a crumb of affection and steadfast hoping for more. The more she rejects you or is unattainable, the more you pine for her and the more you woo her. It glorifies unrequited love. The more one is rejected and the more hopelessness the situation but still stay steadfast in your love, the greater prove the trueness of one's love and devotion.
They Flee From Me does remind me of John Donne's poems. The poem you read before, Go, and Catch A Falling Star, has a similar theme, the fickleness of a woman's heart. Same as Orsinio's misogynistic speech in response to the indifference of Olivia in Act 2 scene 4 in Twelfth Night. It echoes with the Renaissance view of a woman's heart. Women were weaker vessels and not worthy as men. Women did not have passion as in the seat of liver but had appetite, i.e., bodily craving so the palate (just a taste) so easily satisfied and changing all the time and seeking new targets (refer to Arden's notes). Of course, we do not believe this, for men and women can both be fickle or steadfast depends on the individual person and different love interest.
I never think one should refer to historical fiction to search for clues to support historical facts. There is always a kernel of truth in fictions but the truth really lies in human nature portrayed, which remains the same at all different ages in history. Sometimes the historical fictions are sourced from rumors or popular beliefs, obviously not known as historical facts. But the fact is the history which we state as fact can be indeed be fact, but we also know how history can be twisted and edited or can be interpreted in different ways by different historians, depending on their perspectives. That's always the pitfall we need to aware of. Look at history in a modern perspective or knowledge can also color our views of history.
I also find historical fictions, especially those written by women, tend to put a modern twist to the women characters, like making them take action and make decisions, (even those actions and decisions coincided with historical facts we know,) with a modern mentality. A modern woman, so iis strong and independent, she knows her own heart and choose her path in life as best as she could, facing the constraints of the age. Philippe Gregory has been doing that all the time. She is writing these women characters to appeal to the modern readers, mainly women of today. You can not seriously think all these women reacted and responded with that modern mentality unless they were all ahead of their times, which is unbelievable.
Just some thoughts of mine after watching your video.
Always look forward for your next video.
Lovely story about the child dancing in front of the mirror.
I wasn’t very clear about Thomas Wyatt’s death in the video sorry. He was imprisoned for committing adulatory with Anne Boleyn. She was executed but he wasn’t. He died a bit later on. Just want to clarify :)
Interesting you link They Flee From Me and Go and Catch a Falling Star and Orsino’s speech together and look at them side by side!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment as always!