What is the theme of Henry Howard's poem "So cruel prison how could betide?"

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, wrote "So cruel prison how
could betide" when he was imprisoned.

I believe the theme
of Howard's poem is that "good friends and good times can be lost at any time, so
appreciate them while you can." The Earl of Surrey was a talented young man, however,
caught up in the politics of the time, he was arrested more than once. The final time,
in order to break the power of the Howard family, a rival falsely accused him of
treason, and Henry Howard was executed at the age of thirty. However, he was not the
only one of his friends to leave this world too early. The poem describes a great man
situations they all enjoyed together.

This poem speaks to
Howard's experiences of the past, and some of the company he
kept:

With a
king's son my childish years did
pass...

The places he visited
and how he felt:

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The large green courts, where we were wont to
hove,
With eyes cast up unto the Maidens' Tower,
And easy sighs,
such as folk draw in
love.

Even as he remembers
these things, the sweet memories turn sour because of the change in his
circumstances.

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Where each sweet place returns a taste full
sour...

Howard recalls the
women in their brightly colored clothes, the dances and "long tails of great delight."
He remembers playing a game and losing sight of the ball because he had seen one he
loved and tried to impress her: "To bait her eyes..."

There
were times when friends participated in "sword play," the drinking "...silver drops [of]
mead...", playing games "of nimbleness and strength" where their limbs had yet to grow
(i.e., they were still very young). There was the company of ladies, time in the wild
forest, and riding in the hunt, pursuing deer
("hart"):

With
cry of hounds and merry blasts between,
Where we did chase the fearful hart a
force...

Things that he took
for granted—a good night's rest and happy dreams:

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...such sleeps as yet delight,
The
pleasant dreams, the quiet bed of
rest...

Howard recalls, in
general, the good fortune he has enjoyed: the trust of friends, foolish talk,
friendships, careful promises and things that passed the time in the dead of winter,
things he probably never thought would disappear:

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The secret thoughts imparted with such
trust,
The wanton talk, the divers change of play,
The friendship
sworn, each promise kept so just,
Wherewith we passed the winter nights
away.

At this point, the tone
of the poem pivots, changing dramatically. The joy of these memories fades in face of
the reality of his present situation. The blood drains from his face, tears course down
his cheeks, his sighs are sobs. In prison he wishes ("pines") for freedom. He finds
little relief.

Hippolyte Taine, author of History
of English literature, writes that the poem expresses Howard's enormous sense
of loss over the passing of friends—all of who died young. Howard would soon join
them.

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[Surrey] records his griefs, regretting his
beloved Wyatt, his friend Clere, his companion the young Duke of Richmond, all dead in
their prime. Alone, a prisoner at Windsor, he recalls the happy days they have passed
together.

The majority of the
poem's images describe the past and days that brought Henry Howard a great deal of
pleasure. The end of the poem is steeped in grief, expressing the pain over the loss of
his friends and the wonderful days they spent together.