Posted by Joaquin Selva Perez (Spain) on February 23, 19104 at 22:15:30:

In Reply to: Re: Whoso list to hunt posted by Dana on May 31, 19100 at 03:32:27:

"Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503 - 1542) is known, if at all nowadays, for introducing the Italian sonnet form (as used by Petrarch particularly) into English usage. Many of his best poems (such as "Whoso list to hunt") are imitations of Petrarch (in this case, most likely Petrarch's 190th sonnet).

"He was a diplomat in the service of Henry VIII, traveling to Italy, France and Spain. Wyatt was imprisoned for his affair with Anne Boleyn, and imprisoned a second time for treason after the fall of Cromwell.

"I like this poem for the way Wyatt expresses personal disappointment and weariness in the great chase, while still admiring a quarry that has both eluded him and is now possessed by a greater man (Caesar). All in sonnet form. The poet tells of his weariness in hunting a female deer (hind). He aserts that he is not giving up, just falling further behind; his wearied mind is still game. But as she continues to flee, he finally leaves off, recognizing his hunt to be as fruitless as seeking to catch the wind in a net. And he counsels others similarly inclined that they would be spending their time in vain.

Of course, there is more than hunting deer going on here, and the imagery and the vocabulary take a turn for the more personal in the last four lines. For this fleeing female wears around her fair neck a necklace with diamonds spelling out the last couplet of the poem: a phrase from the Vulgate: 'touch me not', for I belong to Caesar (or Henry VIII, as the case may be).

"The wonderful final line captures both the pasion and the yoked submission suggested by the diamond necklace, both of great interest to the speaker, who can appreciate both but enjoy neither. David."

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