“Whoso List to Hunt” is a Petrarchan sonnet written by Sir Thomas Wyatt. It is partially a translation and partially an imitation of Francesco Petrarch’s Sonnet 190. It was likely written in the 1530s or 1540s, making it one of the first sonnets written in English. It is thus an important precursor to some of the most significant poems in the history of English literature, including Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Like those poems, “Whoso List to Hunt” is about love; its speaker describes love as a desperate and violent pursuit, in which a man attempts to hunt down the woman he loves. This pursuit has failed, so the speaker spends the poem explaining why he is giving up the hunt.
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The Full Text of “Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind”
1Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
2But as for me, hélas, I may no more.
3The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
4I am of them that farthest cometh behind.
5Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
6Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
7Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
8Sithens in a net I seek to hold the wind.
9Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
10As well as I may spend his time in vain.
11And graven with diamonds in letters plain
12There is written, her fair neck round about:
13Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
14And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.
The Full Text of “Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind”
1Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
2But as for me, hélas, I may no more.
3The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
4I am of them that farthest cometh behind.
5Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
6Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
7Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
8Sithens in a net I seek to hold the wind.
9Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
10As well as I may spend his time in vain.
11And graven with diamonds in letters plain
12There is written, her fair neck round about:
13Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
14And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.
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“Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind” Summary
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“Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind” Themes
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Lust and Violence
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Agency, Gender, and Control
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Unrequited Love
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind”
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Line 1
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
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Lines 2-4
But as for me,
hélas
, I may no more.
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that farthest cometh behind. -
Lines 5-8
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,
Sithens in a net I seek to hold the wind. -
Lines 9-10
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I may spend his time in vain. -
Lines 11-14
And graven with diamonds in letters plain
There is written, her fair neck round about:
Noli me tangere
, for Caesar's I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.
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“Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind” Symbols
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Hind
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Wind
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Diamonds
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Caesar
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“Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Enjambment
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End-Stopped Line
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Caesura
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Refrain
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Metaphor
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Extended Metaphor
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Allusion
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Apostrophe
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Personification
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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Assonance
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“Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Whoso
- List
- Hind
- Hélas
- Travail
- Draw
- Sithens
- Graven
- Noli me tangere
- Caesar
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind” Speaker
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“Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind”
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More “Whoso List to Hunt, I Know where is an Hind” Resources
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External Resources
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Petrarch 190 in English and Italian — Link to the Italian text and English translation of Petrarch 190, "Una candida cerva sopra l'erba," the poem on which "Whoso List to Hunt" is based.
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Carol Rumens on "Whoso List to Hunt" — A brief essay by Carol Rumens on "Whoso List to Hunt" for the Guardian newspaper.
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Reading of "Whoso List to Hunt" — A reading of "Whoso List to Hunt."
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Biography of Sir Thomas Wyatt — A biographical note on Sir Thomas Wyatt from the Academy of American Poets.
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W.S. Merwin on "Whoso List to Hunt" — An essay by the American poet W.S. Merwin on Wyatt's poetry.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Sir Thomas Wyatt
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