Question

Which lines in this poem indicate that the poetic speaker refuses to be beguiled by love any longer? Farewell Love by Sir Thomas Wyatt Farewell, Love, and all thy laws for ever: Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more. Senec and Plato call me from thy lore, To perfect wealth my wit for to endeavour. In blind error when I did persever, Thy sharp repulse, that wingspaneth aye so sore, Hath taught me to set in trifles no store, And scape forth, since liberty is lever. Therefore farewell, go trouble younger hearts, And in me claim no more authority; With idle youth go use thy property

Answer 1

The line ¨Thy baited hook shall tangle me no more¨ because fish are beguiled or tricked into biting a hook with glittery lures or bait and that would be what the author is comparing love to

Answer 2

"Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more."

We know that "thy" refers back to "Love" in the first sentence. Just like hooks are used to catch and snag a fish, the speaker is saying that Love uses hooks to catch and snag him. However, when he says that the hooks shall tangle me no more, he is stating that love can no longer catch and keep him. Beguile means to deceptively trap something. When using a hook, a fisherman deceptively ensnares the fish by hiding the hook inside bait. In this line, the speaker refuses to be tricked into love's trap any more.