Whoso List to Hunt

Sir Thomas Wyatt

Lines 1-2

The speaker (hunter) begins the poem by telling other hunters that he knows where to find a hind (female deer); however, he is no longer going to hunt this deer.

Lines 3-4: Hunting this deer has been such hard work

(“vain travail”) that the hunter is weary and has fallen into last place in the hunt.

Whoso List to Hunt

Lines 5-7

Although the hunt has wearied the hunter, he cannot take his mind off of the deer. He still follows in exhaustion.

Lines 7-8 The hunter finally decides to stop his hunt

because he knows it will be impossible for him to catch the deer. He shows that it is impossible by comparing his

hunt to trying a catch wind in a net, an obviously futile action.

Whoso List to Hunt

Lines 9-10

He assures those other hunters of this deer that they will waste their time just as he has.

Lines 11-13 They cannot catch this deer because she has

already been claimed. She wears Caesar’s collar.

Julius Caesar’s tame deer wore collars inscribed with the phrase Noli me tangere (“touch me not”).

Whoso List to Hunt

Line 14

Although this deer seems tame, she is “wild.” What does this mean?

The speaker could be referring to the woman herself – Caesar’s claim hasn’t altered her wildness or fickleness.

He could be referring to the risks involved in pursuing her against Caesar’s wishes.

Whoso List to Hunt

This poem compares love to hunt. Symbolic Meaning

Form – Italian Sonnet Theme – Love is not always attainable.

Whoso List to Hunt

Character in Poem

General Meaning Historical Meaning

Hunter A man pursuing a woman

Thomas Wyatt

Deer The woman being pursued

Anne Boleyn

Caesar The man who already has claim to the woman

Henry VIII

Sonnet 30 & Sonnet 75

Edmund Spenser

Lines 1-4

The speaker compares his love to ice. She is cold (indifferent to him), and his fire (passion for her) cannot break this indifference.

In fact, his fire makes her ice harden. Lines 5-8

The speaker states that his love’s coldness does not temper his passion.

In fact, his passion intensifies the more indifferent this girls acts.

Sonnet 30

Lines 9-12

The speaker marvels at this miraculous exchange – that fire can harden ice, and ice can feed fire.

How can this be possible? Lines 13-14 (these lines reveal the theme)

Love is powerful. Love is even powerful enough to defy the laws

of nature.

Sonnet 30

Paradox – an apparent contradiction that if

somehow true. The paradox that fire can harden ice, and ice

can feed fire makes sense given that love is powerful enough to change the laws of nature.

Form – Spenserian Sonnet

Sonnet 30

This poem provides a dialogue, a

conversation, between a man and a woman. Lines 1-4

A man writes his love’s name in the sand. The waves come in and wash away her name, so he again writes her name in the sand. The waves again wash away her name.

Sonnet 75

Lines 5-8

The woman finds the man’s efforts foolish (“vain”).

She tells him that he cannot immortalize a mortal thing. He cannot keep her name written in the sand

forever. She says that like her name was washed away

by the waves, she too (her “name”– her life, existence) will be “wiped out” (she will die, be forgotten).

Sonnet 75

Lines 9-12

The man will NOT allow his love to die and be forgotten.

Baser (vile, dishonorable) things can do this, but she is much more important.

He will make his love famous and eternal, keep her name in the heavens, by writing about her in his “verse” (poetry).

Sonnet 75

Lines 13-14

Even when death conquers the entire world, it will not be able to conquer them or their love because he has kept them alive in his poetry.

Eternizing conceit – Submit to my love, and I’ll make you famous and even immortal through my writing.

Theme – Poetry about love can make love immortal.

Form – Spenserian Sonnet

Sonnet 75

To the Virgins, To Make Much of

Time

Robert Herrick

Stanza 1

The speaker commands “virgins” (young women) to gather rosebuds now.

Why? Time always passes, and tomorrow these

beautiful flowers might be withered. Stanza 2

The higher in the sky the sun rises, the closer the day is to ending (“nearer he’s to setting”)

Time is always passing.

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Stanza 3

The best time of life is youth. But when your youth is “spent” (gone), life is

worse. Times always passes.

Stanza 4 He commands the young women not to be

“coy” (cold or aloof), but to marry while they are still young.

Once they age and lose their beauty, they may lose their chances to marry.

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Symbolism

Rosebuds – opportunities or youth Personification

Flowers, Time, sun Form – Lyric Theme – carpe diem: seize the day – Live life

to the fullest

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

To His Coy Mistress

Andrew Marvell

Lines 1-20

If they had all the space and time in the world, this man would not mind his lady acting “coy.” Space

They could wander by the Ganges River in India or the Humber River in England.

Time He would love her from ten years prior to the Flood

to the Last Judgment. He could spend hundreds or thousands of years

praising everything beautiful about her.

To His Coy Mistress

Lines 21-24

He always “hears” time chasing him down and can only anticipate an empty and desert eternity.

Because they do not have all the time in the world, he wants this woman to love him now.

Lines 25-32 Once time passes and this woman has died, her

beauty and his love will be gone. She will die a virgin. All her honor and all his lust will turn to dust and

ashes. None can embrace and love in the grave.

To His Coy Mistress

Lines 33 – 46

While this woman is young and passionate, the speaker wants them to love fiercely now.

To “devour” their time together To “tear our pleasure”… “Through the iron gates of

life” They cannot make time stand still, but they can

make the most of the time they have.

To His Coy Mistress

Allusions

Flood, conversion of the Jews Personification

Time, sun Metaphor

Vegetable love Simile

“the youthful hue / Sits on thy skin like morning dew”

“like amorous birds of prey”

To His Coy Mistress

Form – Lyric Theme – carpe diem: seize the day – Live life

to the fullest

To His Coy Mistress

Death be not Proud

John Donne

Line 1

The speaker begins the poem by stating that Death has no reason to feel proud. The rest of the poem provides the speaker’s

reasoning for this opinion. Lines 1-4

Reason #1: Death is not strong (“mighty”) or terrifying (“dreadful”). Why?

Death has not actually killed anyone, and Death cannot kill the speaker.

Death be not Proud

Lines 5-8

Death is not strong (“mighty”) or terrifying (“dreadful”). Why?

Because rest and sleep give much pleasure and are only pictures of Death, we can expect more pleasure from the actual thing.

Death has taken the best men and these men have found rest and relief from pain. Others can expect to find the same in death (and be in

good company ).

Death be not Proud

Lines 9-12

Death is not strong (“mighty”) or terrifying (“dreadful”). Why?

Death is a slave to other forces (accidents, kings’ decrees, suicidal men, poison, war, and illness).

Opium and magic or hypnotism can make men sleep better than Death can.

Lines 13-14 Reason #2: We will live eternally in the afterlife.

There Death has no power; death will die.

Death be not Proud

Paradox

Those dead have not died & Death will die. These paradoxes are explained by the speaker’s

belief in the presence of an afterlife. Theme: The human soul is immortal, and will

live on after physical death. Form: Shakespearean sonnet in structure. Italian sonnet in rhyme scheme.

Death be not Proud