I Find No Peace

Analysis and Literary Devices

Sir Thomas Wyatt

1. What is the poem I Find No Peace about?
2. What is the theme of the poem I Find No Peace?
3. What is the structure of the poem I Find No Peace?
4. Line-by-Line Analysis and Literary Devices in the Poem I Find No Peace

What is the poem I Find No Peace about?

Sir Thomas Wyatt, the 16th-century poet, and diplomat, introduced the sonnet form in England. He translated Petrarch’s 134th sonnet consisting of eleven syllables into (often irregular) iambic pentameter sonnets. Wyatt imitated Petrarch’s form and language but also introduced subtle changes to express his own personal and political uncertainties. The sonnet focuses on love but while the original sonnet idealizes love, Wyatt’s is a depiction of the inner struggles due to the complexities and contradictions of love.

The specific inspiration behind the poem is unknown, however, scholars speculate that the intense emotion expressed in the poem can be linked to his relationship with Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII.

What is the theme of the poem I Find No Peace?

Love – The poem is about love and its complex nature. The speaker seems to be in love with another person, but this love leads to self-hatred. He is caught in a conflicted state of emotions, where his affection for someone else intensifies his self-disdain ( I love another, and thus I hate myself. ). The speaker’s expression of love is not chivalrous like a Petrarchan lover but rather satiric as love is the “causer of this strife”.

Paradox – The poem is full of paradoxical imagery and contradictory expressions of the speaker’s emotional upheaval. It plays with opposites such as fear and hope, burning and freezing, having and lacking, seeing without eyes, and desiring death and health. These contradictions highlight the complexity of human emotions and the speaker’s inner turmoil.

What is the structure of the poem I Find No Peace?

The sonnet is the subgenre of the lyric. It has fourteen lines and the meter used is iambic pentameter. The fourteen lines in the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet are further divided into an octave (eight lines) and a sestet(six lines). The rhyme scheme of the octave is ABBAABBA while the rhyme scheme of the sestet varies (CDECDE, CDDCEE, CDCCDC). In I Find No Peace, a sonnet following the Petrarchan model, the rhyme scheme of the sestet is CDECDE. Wyatt uses paradoxes to express the lover’s anguish due to unrequited love.

Line-by-Line Analysis and Literary Devices in the Poem I Find No Peace

I find no peace, and all my war is done.  (a)

I fear and hope. I burn and freeze like ice.  (b)

I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise;    (b)

And nought I have, and all the world I seize on.   (a)

That loseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison     (a)

And holdeth me not—yet can I scape no wise—      (b)

Nor letteth me live nor die at my device,       (b)

And yet of death it giveth me occasion.        (a)

Without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain.    (c)

I desire to perish, and yet I ask health.          (d)

I love another, and thus I hate myself.            (e)

I feed me in sorrow and laugh in all my pain;       (c)

Likewise displeaseth me both life and death,        (d)

And my delight is causer of this strife.          (e)

• Anaphora– Repetition of I in the first three lines and lines ten, eleven, and twelve.
• Similie – I burn and freeze like ice.
• Paradox – “I fear and hope. I burn and freeze like ice.”
  • “And nought I have, and all the world I seize on.”
  • “That loseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison, And holdeth me not—yet can I scape no wise—”
  • “Without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain.”
  • “I desire to perish, and yet I ask health.”
  • “I love another, and thus I hate myself.”

The first three lines begin with “I“, a first-person pronoun, to draw attention to the personal perspective of the speaker and his suffering due to unrequited love.

The first line sets the poem’s tone by using paradox to establish the poem’s theme, which is the lack of inner peace. The phrase “I find no peace” suggests that the speaker is unable to find a sense of tranquility although “all my war is done” which metaphorically refers to an end to the speaker’s inner conflicts. The word “war” here is used metaphorically to represent inner conflicts, such as emotional turmoil, desires, or inner struggles.

The second line expresses the state of anxiety in which the speaker finds himself through a contradictory combination of emotions. Just as fear and hope are contrasting emotions similarly burning and freezing are opposing sensations. This line expresses the profound effect of love on his senses.

The third line has another paradoxical imagery of flying yet the inability to rise. It seems the speaker experiences momentary bliss or ecstasy but these fleeting moments of togetherness fail to alleviate the sense of being grounded or trapped.

The fourth line again hinges on the paradoxical expression of possessing nothing yet seizing the whole world. There is a sense of emotional emptiness (which might be due to the absence of the beloved) and an intense longing for the beloved (an all-encompassing desire to possess more than material objects).

The fifth line uses yet another paradox to express how the speaker feels confined despite there being no apparent external cause for their captivity. It indicates that the speaker’s inner turmoil is the real source of his imprisonment.

The sixth line reflects the paradoxical situation in which the speaker finds himself as there is no external restraint yet the speaker cannot escape. The spirit of the speaker is weighed down by a cycle of internal conflicts or emotions that prevent him from finding the peace he desires.

The seventh line is a portrayal of the speaker’s struggle to find solace in life or death as he lacks the ability to determine his own fate or destiny. He feels entrapped as circumstances prevent him from exercising agency over his own existence.

The eighth line implies that the challenges the speaker faces are so overwhelming that death appears as a potential release or solution.

The ninth line highlights the speaker’s intuitive or perceptive nature, where their insight is not limited to visual perception. It also emphasizes their capacity for non-verbal communication, possibly through other forms of expression or through the power of their thoughts.

The tenth line highlights the complex and contradictory nature of human emotions. It explores the dichotomy between the speaker wanting relief from suffering by putting an end to their existence while seeking the preservation of his health.

The eleventh line reflects the conflicting emotions that can arise in matters of love. The speaker’s love for another person seems to bring about a sense of self-deprecation, possibly due to feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, or a perceived inability to attain the desired love.

The twelfth line indicates that the speaker draws some sense of comfort or even solace from the sorrow. The speaker’s reaction to the sorrow is laughter. This might suggest a coping mechanism or an effort to mask his true emotions.

The thirteenth line conveys the speaker’s dissatisfaction with both life and death, emphasizing his yearning for a resolution or a state of being that brings him true peace. It adds to the theme of internal conflict and the speaker’s quest for a sense of tranquility that eludes him.

The fourteenth line implies that the speaker’s delight or pleasure is the source or cause of their strife or inner turmoil. It suggests that the very thing that brings them joy or happiness also brings about internal conflict or unrest.