Jessica on Powell's Wyatt article.

Jason Powell's "For Caesar's I am" (Jessica Williams)

Jason Powell writes a very strong essay on the diplomacy and representation of kings during the sixteenth century as they are represented in the poetry of Thomas Wyatt. Thomas Wyatt was a diplomat for King Henry VIII. Wyatt’s life was very much an interesting one, as he did a lot of travelling for King Henry VIII as his ambassador and diplomat. He was imprisoned twice throughout his life; he was held for ransom by Spanish soldiers once and the second time was as a charge for adultery with Anne Boleyn. Thomas Wyatt’s time as a diplomat influenced his poems in many ways and is the subject of the piece written by Jason Powell as it “reexamines the long-established connection between Thomas Wyatt’s poetry and his experience as a diplomat in France and Italy in 1526 and 1527..” (415). Powell argues that all major works of Wyatt’s were heavily influenced by his time as a diplomat.

            Page 424 of Powell’s writing gives a great example of how Wyatt’s writing was influenced by his diplomacy. Tagus, Farewell, one of the most well-known poems from Thomas Wyatt, can be related to his trip from Toledo. Powell points out that Wyatt writes as if he is a diplomat, or as a diplomat would on page 431 saying, “Like a diplomat, the speaker of Whoso list comes with a purpose, handed to him by the “graven” image of Caesar”. Although Powell uses a different poem in the previously stated quote, it still stands that Wyatt is influenced by his diplomacy. Another time that his poetry gives way to politics is in Of Carthage when Wyatt compares Hannibal’s victory and defeat to the political victory of patron Stefano Colonna (427). These passages, among others, show that Thomas Wyatt was very much influenced by his time as a diplomat for King Henry VIII due to the way of his writing and the subject matter within it.

            God and religion were very important during the sixteenth century so I found it interesting on page 424 when you find that readers were sometimes uncomfortable with the poem Tagus, Farewell because there was no mention of God. It was noted later on in the article that during the sixteenth century, when Thomas Wyatt was writing, the lines between church and state were very blurred and many times considered to be one and the same. Therefore, we can conclude that Wyatt was still very religious and keeping with that in his writings.

            Lastly, I found it very interesting that you can find different voices within the writings of Thomas Wyatt as if there is more than one speaker. For example, the final couplet at the end of Whoso List to Hunt is a different voice within the poem denoted by quotations. I found this especially interesting because Wyatt did this within his diplomacy as well when he would speak as if he were talking on the King’s behalf, even without the orders from the King himself. Powell says, “We have seen how dialogue and reported speech are employed to a similar effect in Henrician diplomatic correspondence, and how, in many examples, the original source of a statement or opinion is frequently disguised,” (428). Therefore, Thomas Wyatt’s use of quotations is similar to him speaking on behalf of the King as if he were the King himself. I feel that the idea of multiple speakers in the pieces reinforces the idea that Thomas Wyatt’s diplomacy heavily influenced his works, as Powell argues throughout his article, because it is written as if two voices are communicating much like what happens during diplomacy.