The phrase "wast in" is an archaic way of saying "was in". It is commonly found in early English literature and poetry, and its spelling is reflective of the linguistic changes that have occurred over time. The word "wast" is actually a conjugated form of the verb "to be" in the past tense. The "w" at the beginning is pronounced as a voiced labiovelar glide /w/, while the "a" is pronounced as a short vowel /æ/. The "s" is pronounced as a voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, and the "t" as a voiceless alveolar plosive /t/.