A few words about the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt.
Beside being a famous English poet Sir Thomas Wyatt held several diplomatic positions in the service of Henry VIII. He introduced and practiced the Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet form in English and also the terza rima, three-line stanza form or tercet with the rhyme scheme aba bcb cdc ded and so on. Once he visited Italy where got the idea of Petrarchan Sonnet and was inspired to write in this form. However this poem "Farewell love and all thy laws forever" is a Petrarchan Sonnet with some variation.
Line - 1 to 4
Farewell love and all thy laws forever;
Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more.
Senec and Plato call me from thy lore
To perfect wealth, my wit for
to endeavour."
Summary : The speaker- poet bids farewell to his beloved or love personified and all the complicated rules of love ( sensuous and romantic love ). Love is like a hook attached with some bait that deceives the lovers but it would not be able to capture the poet now as he is determined to bid love adieu. He is inspired now by the theory of rationality of Senec (Lucius Annaeus Seneca), a Roman philosopher, and divine love of Plato, Greek philosopher. His present state of mind would develop and make perfect his mind's well-being and his wit.
Line - 5 to 8
"In blind error when I did persever,
Thy sharp repulse, that
pricketh aye so sore,
Hath taught me to set in trifles no store
And scape forth, since liberty is lever."
Summary : The poet-lover confesses that once he was blind, devoid of judgement, persevered for love and made the error of falling in romantic love. He was badly rejected by his lady love which did sting him, made sore in mind (pained him much). His experience has taught him that he should not give so much value to the trifle things like love, he should escape from it as liberty is preferable. Love binds one from all sides and snatches liberty.
Line - 9 to 12
"Therefore farewell; go trouble younger hearts
And in me claim no more
authority.
With idle youth go use thy
property
And thereon spend thy many brittle darts,"
Summary: Having this realization the speaker bids love farewell and makes her free to be attached with other lovers who are young in age and wisdom. Love is requested to claim no right/authority to the poet. He further requests the love to project her charm before the idle youths who have no noble mission in life except falling in love. She should spend the fine and fragile arrows of Cupid ( God of love ) to those love-monger young generations.
Line - 13 to 14
" For hitherto though I have
lost all my time,
Me lusteth no lenger rotten boughs to climb."
Summary : The poet says that he has wasted much valuable time in the love-game and emphatically declares that he has no mind to devote to love, even for a single second, as making love, to him now, is like the climbing on a rotten branch of a tree which may break any time and bring about the sad ruin of the climber, here the lover.
Word Notes: Thy - your , Baited hooks - the hooks attached with piece of food (bait ) for catching fish, Tangle - capture/arrest, Lore - field of knowledge, Wealth - mind's develop ment, Error - the mistake that can not be corrected, persever - persevere/working hard, Repulse - refusal, Aye - all, Sore - wound, Scape - escape, Lever - preferable, Authority - right, Property - charm, Brittle darts - fine arrows, Lusteth - want, No lenger - no longer, Bough - branch of tree.
