Thomas Wyatt (1503-11 October 1542) was an English politician, ambassador, and lyric poet who introduced the sonnet to English literature.
Biography[]
Thomas Wyatt was born in Allington Castle, Kent, England in 1503, the son of Privy Councillor Henry Wyatt. Thomas followed his father to the court of King Henry VIII in 1509, and he was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge. Wyatt began to write poetry, and he fell in love with Anne Boleyn, a stunning noblewoman; however, Wyatt was married, which led to Boleyn turning him away. Wyatt went on to write Whoso List to Hunt as an allegory for his inability to "hunt" the "hind" (Anne ) which belonged to "Caesar" (King Henry). He later met King Henry himself, and King Henry decided to send Wyatt to accompany Cardinal Thomas Wolsey as an ambassador to France in 1527 to keep him away from Anne. In May 1536, he was imprisoned for committing adultery with Boleyn, but his friendship with Thomas Cromwell led to his release. His poetry would later be circulated around court, but his poems were not published during his lifetime. His first book featuring his verse, Tottel's Miscellany, was not published until fifteen years after his death.
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