Unit Three
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Whoso List to Hunt
Sonnet 30
by Sir Thomas Wyatt, pages 250–251
by Edmund Spenser, pages 252–253
Poetry
Responding and Writing
Wyatt’s “Whoso List to Hunt” is believed to have been written about his unrequited love for Anne Boleyn.
In the poem, he explains that he is giving up the sport of hunting, representing his pursuit of love, because
it has proven fruitless. In Spenser’s “Sonnet 30,” the speaker tells of his intense love for another that only
makes her less attainable.
Vocabulary
entreat to ask earnestly
augmented increased
manifold greatly
congealed made solid
After You Read
Literary Lens: Sonnet
In Wyatt’s poem, students should mark the octave
abbaabba and the sestet cddcee. In Spenser’s poem,
they should mark the first three quatrains abab bcbc
cdcd and the final couplet ee. The repeated rhyming
sounds help make both poems musical and also
help knit together their ideas. In Wyatt’s sonnet, the
sestet elaborates on the deer that represents the love
forbidden to the speaker. In Spenser’s sonnet, the
final couplet draws a general conclusion about love
based on the details that came before.
Explore Context: Hunting in Tudor Society
Students’ paragraphs will vary, but their research
on hunting might include mention of the use
of hounds and dogs, the fact that it was often
considered a sport, and that only landowners could
hunt their land; uninvited hunters were called
poachers.
Read Critically
1.To what two elements does the speaker of
“Sonnet 30” compare himself and his beloved?
What does the comparison suggest about each of
their feelings? He compares himself to fire and his
beloved to ice. The comparison suggests that he feels
fervently about his beloved, but that she is cool to
his passion.
2.How are the speaker’s situation and feelings in
“Sonnet 30” like and unlike those of the speaker
in “Whoso List to Hunt”? Both speakers are
having trouble gaining the affections of the woman
they love, but while the woman in “Whoso List to
Hunt” seems to be off-limits to the speaker because
of outside forces, the woman in “Sonnet 30” seems
of her own inclination to be cool to the speaker’s
pursuit. Also, the woman in “Whoso List to Hunt”
seems to be someone the speaker loves from afar,
while the woman in “Sonnet 30” seems to be
someone who knows the speaker.
Writing a Letter of Advice
Ask students to imagine that the speaker in
“Sonnet 30” has written them to ask for help
in winning his beloved. Encourage students to
take notes on the poem and then write a letter
giving their advice.
Apply and Create: Identify Petrarchan
Conceit
Answers will vary, but could include the ideas
below.
Love
Infatuation
Admiration
Chemistry
Need
BothHunt
Seeking
Pursuing
Sport
Need
Many Voices: British Literature
Sport
Food
Need
Traditions and Change
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