Whoso List to Hunt

by Sir Thomas Wyatt

AP/H English 12DercherMini – Read Reading Indicators

R.1.3.4R.1.4.5R.1.4.9R.1.4.10

Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind, But as for me, alas, I may no more.But as for me, alas, I may no more. The vain travail hath wearied me so soreThe vain travail hath wearied me so sore I am of them that farthest cometh behind.I am of them that farthest cometh behind.

55 Yet may I, by no means, my wearied mind Yet may I, by no means, my wearied mindDraw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore,Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore,Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.

Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,10 As well as I may spend his time in vain.10 As well as I may spend his time in vain.

And graven with diamonds in letters plainAnd graven with diamonds in letters plain There is written, her fair neck round about,There is written, her fair neck round about, “ “Noli me tangereNoli me tangere, for Caesar’s I am,, for Caesar’s I am, And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.”And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.”

• Footnotes

list: archaic for “desires.”

hind (rhymes with kind): female deer

travail: hard work

put him out of doubt: assure him (that he).

“Noli me tangere”: Latin for “touch me not”

Remember Reading Strategy! Read once for the beauty and flow of the language! Read twice and decide what you “get” versus “not get”: paraphrase! Read a third time to select interesting word choices, figurative language devices, rhetorical constructs, construction choices, and mechanics.

Write your ideas down!

Create a theme statement!

Create a pool of terms that you could use to discuss the sonnet!

Think: “This contributes to the writer’s ability to convey or delivery the theme in this way…

Analysis: Go beyond paraphrasing and identification!

1. Which of the following images represents the woman the speaker wants to pursue?

a. “The vain travail”b. “diamonds in letters plain”c. “the deer”d. “my wearied mind”

2. The tone of this sonnet isa. optimisticb. resignedc. neutrald. patient

Petrarchan Sonnets

• Francesco Petraca, known in English as Francis Petrarch (1304-1374)

• Sonnets to Laura (woman of ideal virtue and beauty)• Unrequited love – sonnets speak of hopeless love• Petrarchan Conceits – A fanciful and elaborate figure of

speech that makes a surprising connection between two seemingly dissimilar things (metaphysical conceit).

• Iambic pentameter• Organized in two unequal parts – Octave (first eight

lines) and Sestet (final six lines)• Turn or reversal occurs usually between the two shifts