Tom Wyatt Character Analysis in The Mirror & the Light

Tom Wyatt is Henry Wyatt’s son and Cromwell’s close friend who is also a poet. Tom Wyatt is rumored to be one of Anne Boleyn’s lovers, which leads to his imprisonment, though Cromwell intervenes to save Tom Wyatt from execution. Tom Wyatt later becomes an ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor. The novel portrays Tom Wyatt as willful, stubborn, and headstrong to the point that some are not sure whether he actually serves King Henry’s best interests. However, Cromwell professes his faith in Tom Wyatt and admires Wyatt’s independence. Cromwell also confides some of the most intimate details of his political strategy to Tom Wyatt.

Tom Wyatt Quotes in The Mirror & the Light

The The Mirror & the Light quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Wyatt or refer to Tom Wyatt. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

‘They think they write the law. But those days are done. There are no private kingdoms now. There is one law, and that is the king’s.’

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell (speaker), Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII , Jane Seymour, Tom Wyatt

Page Number and Citation: 66

Explanation and Analysis:

If those princes had been with me today, [Cromwell] writes, they would have seen Henry’s learning and marvelled at it. They would have witnessed his judgement, his policy: they would have seen him as—he lifts his pen for an instant from the page—the mirror and light of all other kings and princes in Christendom.

Related Characters: Thomas Cromwell, Tom Wyatt, King Henry VIII , John Lambert

Related Symbols: Mirrors

Page Number and Citation: 530

Explanation and Analysis:

Tom Wyatt Character Timeline in The Mirror & the Light

The timeline below shows where the character Tom Wyatt appears in The Mirror & the Light. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...are officially married. Cromwell leaves the group with his nephew, Richard. They go to visit Tom Wyatt , who is a prisoner in the Tower of London. Wyatt is one of Cromwell’s... (full context)

Nobility, Meritocracy, and the Aristocracy Theme Icon

After leaving Tom Wyatt , Cromwell and Richard return to Cromwell’s home. Cromwell is now 50. He is a... (full context)

...see Cromwell. When Cromwell arrived at George’s cell, George seemed haggard. He asked Cromwell why Tom Wyatt wasn’t also sentenced to death for having an affair with Anne Boleyn, and Cromwell said... (full context)

That day, Cromwell goes to see Tom Wyatt in his prison cell in the Tower of London. Tom Wyatt is reading a book... (full context)

Cromwell and Tom Wyatt then discuss the people who were executed alongside Anne Boleyn. Wyatt says he went along... (full context)

Cromwell sends Richard to the Tower of London to free Tom Wyatt . The controversy around Reginald’s book ensures that no one will be paying much attention... (full context)

Bess Darrell, who is carrying Tom Wyatt ’s child, sends for Cromwell. Bess is living with the Pole family. Margaret Pole greets... (full context)

Cromwell says he helped Tom Wyatt get out of prison but that the child Bess Darrell is carrying actually saved Wyatt’s... (full context)

The next day, Richard brings Cromwell a poem that was found on Tom Wyatt ’s table. The poem mourns the deaths of the men executed alongside Anne Boleyn. Richard... (full context)

...him. Cromwell considers finding a stranger to commit the murder and then thinks about sending Tom Wyatt to do it. King Henry would forgive Tom Wyatt everything if Wyatt were successful. Richard... (full context)

Cromwell then travels to Kent, where he sees Henry Wyatt, Tom Wyatt ’s father. Tom Wyatt has been hectoring Cromwell to send him abroad in the king’s... (full context)

...down. Barnes would be reluctant to believe him, but Cromwell said the same thing to Tom Wyatt and kept his word. Barnes warns that the Pope will soon take action and excommunicate... (full context)

Cromwell enlists Tom Wyatt to become the English ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor. The Emperor wants Mary to... (full context)

...means it or if it’s a ruse to try and get Reginald in his clutches. Tom Wyatt is with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, but he hasn’t presented the Emperor with... (full context)

...less valuable for the Cromwell family. Call-Me also says that he plans to write to Tom Wyatt to ensure that Wyatt is doing what he's supposed to be doing. Gregory then asks... (full context)

In his role as ambassador, Tom Wyatt travels with the Holy Roman Emperor. He goes with the Emperor from Spain to Nice,... (full context)

Tom Wyatt adds that last year in France, Reginald approached him. Tom Wyatt thinks he could agree... (full context)

On June 21, Tom Wyatt is set to return to meet the Holy Roman Emperor but can’t depart because the... (full context)

...Lambert’s power to change what he thought. After Cranmer leaves, Cromwell writes a letter to Tom Wyatt . He says that King Henry gave a powerful performance in the hearing in an... (full context)

...wage a crusade against England. The Inquisitors in Spain have also begun a trial against Tom Wyatt . Cromwell then implicitly threatens Gertrude Courtenay’s child (who King Henry still holds in custody)... (full context)

...would be killed. Cromwell is glad that Call-Me is back but is still anxiously awaiting Tom Wyatt ’s return. Riche says that Wyatt has secrets about how to get the better of... (full context)

...week later, Cromwell hears that Call-Me bribed someone for a key so he could read Tom Wyatt ’s letters to Cromwell. Cromwell doesn’t think Call-Me will be able to break the cipher... (full context)

Tom Wyatt writes that he’s authorized to leave Spain now, but he’ll wait until the Emperor is... (full context)

Meanwhile, Tom Wyatt has made contact with both the Emperor and the King of France, François, and sent... (full context)

...with Cromwell, Henry thinks that the differences between King François’s and the Emperor’s reactions to Tom Wyatt show the fracturing of the fragile alliance between the two. Henry then says that he... (full context)

At the end of January, Tom Wyatt approaches the Emperor. He tells the Emperor that England and the Holy Roman Empire have... (full context)

...next day, King Henry knights Richard, and chants of “Cromwell!” ring through the stadium. Meanwhile, Tom Wyatt returns to England from abroad. Cromwell and Wyatt discuss what has happened while Wyatt was... (full context)

...also come to the Tower of London and provide testimony against Cromwell. Cromwell learns that Tom Wyatt has also provided testimony to King Henry that, at the very least, didn’t displease the... (full context)

Cromwell sees Tom Wyatt on his way to the scaffold. He tells Wyatt that if anything needs to be... (full context)

The Mirror & the Light

Tom Wyatt Character Analysis

Tom Wyatt Quotes in The Mirror & the Light

Part 1, Chapter 2: Pages 64-85 Quotes

Part 4, Chapter 2: Pages 503-531 Quotes

Tom Wyatt Character Timeline in The Mirror & the Light