Poetry Analysis †Whoso List to Hunt - 1128 Words

Poetry Analysis – Whoso List To Hunt â€Å"Whoso List To Hunt† is a Petrarchan sonnet by Thomas Wyatt, which is known as an Italian sonnet, consisting of an octave and a sestet. This sonnet revolves around the themes of unrequited love, sexism, complexity, obsession and passion. Wyatt uses a collection of poetic techniques within the sonnet in order to display the power and desire the man has for the woman. The structure of this sonnet corresponds to a Petrarchan sonnet. This is identified by the rhyming scheme â€Å"abba abba cde cde†. The sonnet is constructed by an octave, which are two quatrains combined then a sestet following after that. â€Å"Whoso List To Hunt† was based in the English Renaissance period during the late 15th century to the†¦show more content†¦The poet in lines 5-6 cannot take his fatigued mind off the ‘deer’ as she continues to flee. â€Å"my wearied mind Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore,†. These lines signify his ‘obsession’ of possessing his prey. The use of the poetic term ‘consonance’, repetitions of non-vowel sounds, in line 6, â€Å"Draw from the deer† expresses the reoccurring longing desire and passion for the deer (woman). Another instance in which consonances are used, â€Å"as she fleeth afore, Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore†. In this line there is an unremitting repetition of the letter â€Å"F† which gives a great indication that the hunter is out of breath and exhausted. When she flees, it quotes, â€Å"fainting I follow†. He can only barely catch up to the wind that follows behind her, so he realises here that the chase is futile. He apprehends the fact that the deer is not welcoming his affection, which refers back to the theme of â€Å"unrequited love†. Wyatt in addition introduces a second ‘metaphor’, â€Å"wind† in which he uses to describe the woman. The â€Å"wind† symbolises agility, freedom and is impossible to capture. The first octave makes out that this was all a wasted hunt, and that the poet is officially unsuccessful. In the closing sestet, the hunter addresses the other suitors who are determined to capture her that they have absolutely no chance and warns them that they’ll suffer deep consequences ifShow MoreRelatedJohn Donne And Cecile Day Lewis1088 Words   |  5 Pagespoet’s era and life experiences that dictate how he/she represents love. Thomas Wyatt, John Donne and Cecile Day Lewis are good examples of how life experiences can determine the poets’ divergence of traditional courtly and pastoral love. An abreast analysis of the above poets’ lives and their works allow us to draw parallels between their life experiences and their subversions of conventions of love. Thomas Wyatt’s subversion of courtly love was influenced by his intimate relation with the women. SirRead MoreThe Court and Sir Thomas Wyatt1386 Words   |  6 PagesSir Thomas Wyatt During the 16th Century, English poetry was dominated and institutionalised by the Court. Because it excited an intensity that indicates a rare concentration of power and cultural dominance, the Court was primarily responsible for the popularity of the poets who emerged from it. Sir Thomas Wyatt, one of a multitude of the so-called Court poets of this time period, not only changed the way his society saw poetry through his adaptations of the Petrarchan Sonnet, but also