LO: to learn how to approach a poem according to the
assessment criteria for AS Level AQA pre-1900 poetry.
Love is about the chase… (or is
there more to it than that?)
Wyatt didn't publish this poem, or any of
the others he wrote, during his lifetime.
While many of them appeared in 1557,
fifteen years after his death, some—such
as "Whoso List to Hunt"—would have to
wait many years.
Thomas Wyatt
1503–1542
Thomas Wyatt
Both Wyatt and Boleyn grew up in Kent and it
Born in Kent, England, Sir Thomas Wyatt was
was rumoured that they had known each other
an ambassador to France and Italy for King
since childhood. Although Wyatt had married
Henry VIII. Wyatt’s travels abroad exposed him
Elizabeth Brook he had separated from her. In
to different forms of poetry, which he adapted
1536, Henry accused Boleyn of adultery and
for the English language — most notably, the
Wyatt was imprisoned. Wyatt’s friendship with
sonnet. Rumoured to be Anne Boleyn’s lover,
Sir Thomas Cromwell, however, meant he was
he spent a month in the Tower of London until
later released. Anne, however, was beheaded.
Boleyn’s execution for adultery. Many consider
For this rumour but also rumour of incest.
his poem “Whoso List to Hunt” to be about
Boleyn.
At the time of writing, Henry VIII was on
the throne. At the time of publishing,
Queen Mary was on the throne- she died
the next year and Elizabeth I then ruled.
The Title- Whoso list to hunt means: ‘Whoever
cares to hunt’, in modern English.
Tudor hunting: Henry VIII owned his own breed of deer- Fallow deer. These were
allowed to run around the Kentish countryside. The predominant stag was
considered to be the king of the herd and would establish his position in the
rutting season. Any does that followed him were his and he would challenge
stags that tried to mate with them- this would usually end in death of the weaker
stag. No one other than Henry VIII was allowed to kill his deer as they were
reserved for his sport while he was on religious tours- he was the only one
worthy of killing such a venerated specimen.
Greek and Roman mythology- Diana is
accompanied by a deer. This is because
she is the goddess of hunting and
virginity, among other things. She's
usually portrayed as an attractive
teenage girl.
Hunting is a major theme in the poem.
As is the idea of heirarchy and royal
supremacy.
Contextual Knowledge: Sonnet Form
• Wyatt is often credited, along with the Earl of Surrey, with
introducing the sonnet (a 14-line poem) into English.
• The sonnet was popularized by an Italian named Francesco
Petrarch (1304-1374), and "Whoso List to Hunt" is a loose
imitation of Petrarch's Sonnet 190. It is likely that Wyatt
was influenced by Petrarchan sonnets from his time spent
in Italy as ambassador. He also spent a lot of time in Rome
while he worked to annul Henry VIIIs marriage to Catherine
of Aragon. This poem, then, is not only filled with royal
intrigue, but form-wise it's one of the first of its kind.
• Petrarchan sonnets often featured an animal, symbolising
an aspect of object of love.
What are the conventions of a Petrarchan
sonnet?
Octave, sestet, volta, abbaabba
Who is the speaker of our
sonnet?
Why does the speaker state
he knows where to find a
hind? Surely he wants to
keep her for himself?
Why is he unable to hunt
her?
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, alas, I may no more;
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that furthest come behind.
What do you now know
about Tudor hunts that
can add depth of
understanding?
Literal meaning
Why has a deer been
used as a metaphor for
a woman? Use your
contextual knowledge
to help.
Apply context
How does the use of comma
and semi colon in line 2 & end
stop line 4 develop your
understanding of these lines?
Symbolic meaning
micro meaning
Repetition of ‘may’ allows us to
compare and contrast its use in
the poem. As you do this- what
ideas about this love can you
infer?
Repetition of ‘wearied’,
once a verb and now an
adjective, establishes a
tone of what mood?
How does the
enjambment help you
understand the
syntax?
Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
Fainting I follow; I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.
What is the significance of the
verb fainting’?
Why has the ending of the hunt
been referred to here?
Literal meaning
Can you hold the
wind? Can you hold it
in a net? Why is this
image being used?
Apply context
Why would this
freedom to flee
seem ironic to a
contemporary
reader?
Eye rhyme- look as if they
should rhyme but don’t. How
does this develop your
understanding of the poem?
Symbolic meaning
micro meaning
What is the significance of
this pronoun ‘her’? Use your
contextual knowledge
Who is the pronoun ‘him’
referring to? Use your
Half repetition of the opening- contextual knowledge
what is different now?
‘letters plain’ is semantically
ambiguous- what effect does
this create? (plain= bland/
obvious)
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I, may spend his time in vain.
Why is ‘vain’
repeated from
line 3?
And graven with diamonds in letters plain,
There is written her fair neck round about,
This caesura
groups her, him
and I. Why?
Literal meaning
Diamonds were EXTREMELY
rare and often worn for safe
keeping. They were a sign of
wealth and the king’s favour
Apply context
How would a contemporary
reader respond to reference to
this doe’s neck? What is the
impact of the adjective ‘fair’?
Symbolic meaning
micro meaning
Latin: supposedly engraved
on the collars of white stags
discovered 300 years after
Caesar’s death.
John 20v17- the words
spoken by Jesus to
Mary when he had
risen from the tomb.
Who is this alluding to?
Why use Caesar and not
someone else?
‘Noli me tangere, for Caesar’s I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.’
What is the hidden irony of lines
13 and 14 being a rhyming
couplet?
Literal meaning
Apply context
Compare and contrast the
adjectives ‘wild’ and ‘tame’.
What do we learn about this
situation and this love in this
final line?
Symbolic meaning
micro meaning
Petrarch’s sonnet 190
A white doe on the green grass appeared to me, with two golden
horns, between two rivers, in the shade of a laurel, when the sun
was rising in an unripe season.
Her look was so sweet and proud that to follow her I left every
task, like the miser who as he seeks treasure sweetens his trouble
with delight.
"Let no one touch me," she bore written with diamonds and
topazes around her lovely neck. "It has pleased my Caesar to
make me free."
And the sun had already turned at midday; my eyes were tired
by looking but not sated, when I fell into the water, and she
disappeared.
The rhyme sound is a vowel- how does this add to
the sensuality of the poem?
Love is about the chase… (or is
there more to it than that?)
Summary Whoso:
The speaker says that, for
those who are into hunting,
he knows where to find a
hind (female deer). He is no
longer interested in chasing
it, but he can't help himself.
He keeps going after it,
despite the fact that it's
driving him to distraction.
He knows he'll never catch
her and he says that
anybody else who even tries
won't get her either. Trying
to catch this hind could be
dangerous. As it turns out,
she belongs to Caesar, an
allusion to Henry VIII.