Wyatt, Sir Thomas

Sir Thomas (1503-1542), an English poet. He was born at Kent. He was graduated from Cambridge in 1518. After traveling on the continent he returned to England where he was well received at court owing to the influence of his father, who had been in favor with Henry VII and was none the less so with Henry VIII. Wyatt's wit and poetic gifts, his polished manners and many accomplishments, made him well fitted to succeed. He was, moreover, a man of skill in the management of affairs, as well as of the strictest integrity. He was intrusted with several diplomatic missions by Henry VIII and was knighted by him in 1536. Wyatt was a student of foreign literature and had cultivated the art of verse making from his youth. His name is associated with that of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, in connection with the sonnet, a form of poetry which these two poets are said to have brought to England from Italy. Wyatt's poems were not published during his lifetime. In Tottel's Miscellany, published in 1557, ninety-six poems are assigned to him. Thirty-one sonnets by Wyatt are extant.