토머스 와이어트의 시에 나타난 조신의 삶

Abstract

This article explores the life of Renaissance courtiers centering on the three epistolary satires by Thomas Wyatt. Poetic speakers of the satires contrast the comfortable and care-free life in the country with the life at the corrupt court by relying on the pastoral convention. These satires have been evaluated mostly based on the idea that they reflected the humanist education Wyatt had received. However, the concept of ‘sprezzatura,' which Castiglione argued to be the characteristic of an ideal courtier, can play a significant role in interpreting these satires. According to Castiglione, a courtier should be good at sprezzatura or disguise in order to advise the ruler without revealing his intention nor provoking the ruler. All three satires of Wyatt consistently reject and criticize the life at the court. However, the concept of sprezzatura leads us to reconsider the authenticity of the speakers, who seemingly prefer the country life. As the pastoral convention at the time presupposes the presence of the court in the background, praise of the country life also reveals Wyatt's incessant obsession with the court even when he was pushed out of the competitive court life. While criticizing the corrupt court and courtiers' lives, the satires portray the poet who subjects himself to the power of Henry VIII. The seemingly contradictory attitude toward the court life should be understood as the inevitable strategy of the courtiers who were expected to disguise. Wyatt's satires also deal with the problems of the court and the way of living in there, although they do not reveal such personal side of the poet as in his love poetry.