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After You Read “Whoso List to Hunt” and “Sonnet 30”
Literary Lens: Sonnet
Prove that Wyatt’s sonnet is a Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet, and Spenser’s is a Spenserian
sonnet by copying each and marking the rhyme scheme. What is the effect of all the repeated
rhyming sounds in the two poems? In Wyatt’s sonnet, how does the content of the octave and
sestet differ? How are they connected? In Spenser’s sonnet, how does the final couplet sum
up the ideas that the poem expresses?
Explore Context: Hunting in Tudor Society
Wyatt’s poem is a translation of a sonnet by Petrarch. What does the poem reveal about
hunting in Petrarch’s Italy? Research hunting in Tudor England. Was hunting a common way to
obtain food? Was it popular as a sport? What lands were hunted, and where was it forbidden
for most people to hunt? What kinds of animals were commonly hunted, and which animals, if
any, were protected? Write a paragraph describing what you learned.
Apply and Create: Identify Petrarchan Conceit
In a group of five, discuss the conceit in Wyatt’s poem. Consider how the comparison of
love to a hunt becomes the framework for the whole poem, with more and more details
elaborating on the basic comparison. Also examine the validity of the conceit, listing
similarities and differences between love and a hunt on a Venn diagram like the one below and
discussing other comparisons you have read or heard that suggest love is a pursuit of prey by
a predator.
Love
254
Both
Hunt
After You Read “Whoso List to Hunt” and “Sonnet 30”
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