Poetry of Surrey and Wyatt; A comparison-

Part I Surrey and Wyatt,

"Fathers of English Sonnet", have rendered great service not only to English
sonnet but also to poetry itself. Though they both translated Petrarchan
Sonnets and applied French and Italian style of sonnet to English, yet Surrey
excelled his friend in doing so. No doubt that it was Sir Thomas Wyatt who
introduced sonnet in English first, but it was Surrey that made it reach its
culminating point. He beautified them with rhyming meter and divided them
into quatrains. Surrey is also known for his contribution of blank verse to
English poetry. However, we must not forget that Surrey developed the
sonnet form from Wyatt. Seen in this perspective, they appear to have been
the forefathers of modern day English poetry. It was on their innovation and
foot prints that Shakespeare and Elizabethans moved on. Strongly influenced
the style and themes of Petrarch, Wyatt merely imitated his ideal and
confined himself to the scope of love theme discussing the stiffness and the
unkind attitude of the beloved. He treats the matter of love in an acute
unemotional manner by deciding to leave his lady love when she seems
unwilling to direct her love to the poet. This appears artificial because human
passion is stirred by refusal whereas Wyatt abolishes the concept of
convincing his darling when she is not moved by his love. A traditional love
poet would kneel and subdue to the mistress for her love but this is otherwise
in the poetry of Wyatt. For example in the poem of "Forget Not Yet": "Forget
not yet the great assays, The cruel wrong, the scornful ways, The painful
patience in delays, Forget not yet!" The most important contribution of Wyatt
to English poetry is, probably, the introduction of sonnet in imitation of the
Italian poet Petrarch. Though having certain limitations and impurities, the
sonnet form introduced by Wyatt became so popular in English that it has
survived till today. Petrarch, in adopting the poetic form of sonnet to English,
overdid in the adjustment of its rhyme scheme. This malfunctioned and
disturbed the harmony of the set of 14 line sonnet. But the only imperfection
we observe in his sonnet form is the rhyme scheme which is altered by him.
Where Petrarch employs a rhyme scheme of: a b b a a b b a c d c d c d or a b b
a a b b a c d e c d e. Wyatt alters the rhyme of last four lines i.e. d c e e. For
example his sonnet "Whoso List to Hunt, I Know Where Is an Hind..." is
composed of 14 lines and the rhyme scheme for last 4 lines is d c e e: "Please it
you so to this to do relief. If otherwise ye seek for to fulfill Your disdain, ye err
and shall not as ye ween, And ye yourself the cause thereof hath been."

Poetry of Surrey and Wyatt; A comparison- Part II

Another notable lacking in the sonnets of Wyatt is the unnatural and forcible
rhyming which makes his sonnets rather artificial and bring them out of
harmony. It can be felt that most of the rhyming syllables have been inserted
unintelligibly without a natural coherence among the preceding lines of his
sonnets. Having said so, it cannot be denied that his sonnets, as regards to
form and style, are still considered among the best sonnets in English poetry.
The examples may include: "Was I never yet of your love grieved", "Whoso
list to hunt, I know where is an hind...", and "Caesar, when that the traitor of
Egypt"etc. In comparison to his sonnets, the love songs of Wyatt do carry a
harmonious effect in the formation of rhyme which is melodious and
appealing. For example: "FORGET not yet the tried intent Of such a truth as I
have meant; My great travail so gladly spent, Forget not yet!" Conceit is yet
another contribution of Sir Thomas Wyatt to English poetry. He translated
and employed this literary feature from his Italian translations of Petrarch.
This proved a vital contribution because it did dominate the rest of English
poetry ever to come. For instance in the below lines, he has attributed "baited
hooks" to love: "Farewell love and all thy laws forever; Thy baited hooks shall
tangle me no more." The poet is a disappointed lover who would rather
surrender all his hopes of love by saying farewell to the cruel laws of love.
However, the thought that love is like fishing bait which hooks one, is a far-
fetched metaphor for the word and feeling of love. Surrey, obviously building
on from Wyatt, began a step ahead of him in the use of sonnet form in English
poetry. He proved very influential in balancing the harmonious and
melodious lyric of English sonnet which had not enlivened to the fullest
under its pioneer Wyatt, in England. He deviated in the form of sonnet from
Wyatt and stuck to Italian rhyme scheme of sonnet by introducing three
quatrains and a couplet to end the sonnet. There seems a perfect harmony in
succeeding syllables and there is melody in the sonnet unlike forcible yoking
of the syllables in Wyatt's sonnets. For example in the sonnet: "Love that doth
reign and live within my thought": "Love that doth reign and live within my
thought And built his seat within my captive breast, Clad in arms wherein
with me he fought, Oft in my face he doth his banner rest."