Allusion To Culture

Shiloh Gustafson
10/28/2013
ENGL 3201
An Allusion to Culture
Hypothetically, say time travel were invented and two writers, one from today and one from a time long past, were given the same, very specific prompts. The likely result would be two entirely different products. Though the topic was the same, the two writers came from two very different times and cultures, producing two works unique to each. Just as light is absorbed and reflected by everything in the Universe, literature – poems, epics, ballads, stories, etc. – absorbs and reflects the cultures and qualities of the society in which it was written, defining and characterizing it, making it specific to that current society and culture. Sir Thomas Wyatt, a poet in the court of
Caesar, in turn, is being used as an allusion to King Henry VIII of England. Henry and Anne Boleyn were married near the time of the composition of this sonnet, making Anne the King’s property and his second wife. As the wife of a king, now a queen, Anne Boleyn is untouchable and unreachable. Everyone below the king and queen must submit to their monarchs as their subjects. The hierarchy was (and still is) an important part of English society and culture, shaping and forming laws and practices and determining the roles of the citizens in the social order. In the Tudor age, both rich and poor were bound to serve their monarch and failure to do so often resulted in death. Even the court system would not dare pass judgment against the wishes of the King. So, ‘do not touch me because I belong to the king’ is a very viable threat and definitely a deterrent to anyone who is not the
As young girls, they were possessions of their parents, primarily their fathers who controlled the household. They were raised to be obedient to men, not just their husbands or family but all men, and expected to marry and have children and then take care of their husband, home, and heirs. Women seldom received educations beyond the ‘necessities’ such as sewing and cooking and etiquette. Everything about Tudor law ultimately gave a husband complete possession of his wife – she became his property. Anne Boleyn, in stark contrast to the standards of Tudor women, went against the grain. She was educated and cunning and actively tantalized Henry, making him want to pursue her. She held huge sway over the King, the most important man in the country, and even convinced him to break with the Roman Catholic Church and divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon in order to marry and bed her. Anne Boleyn was the epitome of a perfect woman on the outside, beautiful and smart and loved at court. In his sonnet, Wyatt alludes to women as a possession but describes Anne Boleyn as, “Wild for to hold, though I seem tame.” Yes, Anne looked the picture of perfection but she was too wild to be held by one