1. Who so List and Sonnet 116 Revise Model Apply
L.O. to practise structuring a poetry essay response (and revise key content of two poems)
Who so List and Sonnet 116
Revise
Model
Apply

2. Context reminder – so why does Wyatt use the metaphysical conceit of a deer to describe his pursuit of Anne Boleyn?
Tudor hunting: Henry VIII owned his own breed of deer- Fallow deer. These were allowed to run around the Kentish countryside. The predominant stag was considered to be the king of the herd and would establish his position in the rutting season. Any does that followed him were his and he would challenge stags that tried to mate with them- this would usually end in death of the weaker stag. No one other than Henry VIII was allowed to kill his deer as they were reserved for his sport while he was on religious tours- he was the only one worthy of killing such a venerated specimen.
Greek and Roman mythology- Diana is accompanied by a deer. This is because she is the goddess of hunting and virginity, among other things. She's usually portrayed as an attractive teenage girl.
Hunting is a major theme in the poem.
As is the idea of heirarchy and royal supremacy.

3. Who so List to hount Types of love: 1) Forbidden or secret love
2) Unrequited love
3) A thwarted love or relationship
4) A love which is difficult to forget, as much as the speaker may wish to or protest that he already has
5) Traditionally in this era, love may be pursued as a game – the thrill of the chase (think particularly of courtly love with the distant noblewoman and a knight admiring her from afar) – yet here, Wyatt appears sick and weary of this practice.
Quick Revision of key AO2 and terminology
Where do we find these features? How do they help to communicate aspects of love in this poem?
Metaphysical conceit
Metaphor
Caesurae
Volta
Half rhyme and eye rhyme
Petrarchan sonnet
Repetition
Enjambment
Contrast

4. Start with the most important point.
Introduction – establish clear argument from the very start; good idea to mention form and show awareness of debate.
Start with the most important point.
2nd argument
3rd point
Counter argument – address the other side. It might be that this is a good place to consider how different audiences across time might interpret the poem
Conclusion – short, specific summary of your main argument. This should not be something new but should clearly relate to rest of essay.
Homework: apply this essay structure to plan a response for the following question:
‘Examine the view that Byron presents Romantic obsessive love in ‘She Walks in Beauty’

5. Examine the view that Who so List to Hunt is about unrequited love.
Introduction – Many would argue that the Petrarchan sonnet, ‘Who so List to Hunt’ portrays a man’s frustrated surrender of the object of his desire, following a bitter and unsatisfying chase. Much of the lexis in the sonnet creates a ‘weried’ tone and the conceit of the ‘hynde’ and the hunter portrays clear boundaries between the two parties in the relationship. The sonnet is allegedly about Thomas Wyatt’s forbidden relationship with Anne Boleyn, the second of Henry VIII’s eight wives, with the metaphysical conceit deliberately constructed to conceal the identity of the object of his desire. Wyatt’s choice of the sonnet form with its strict rhyme and rhythm could reflect the difficulty and constraint the speaker feels when he is unable to catch his ‘hynde’. Paragraph one – Wyatt’s sonnet is constructed around the metaphysical conceit of the ‘hynde’ and the idea of the chase - a powerful suggestion of unrequited love. Choice of a ‘hynde’ as prey – significance re Henry VIII/ ‘vayne travail’ suggesting futility of chase/ persistent ongoing pursuit in face of adversity ‘faynting I followe’/ Paragraph two – Additionally, the use of a first person speaker helps to suggest an emotional and personal experience of the chase. Reinforced by use of mid-line caesurae to reflect regret and disappointment/ ‘, helas,’ and ‘…I leve of therefore’/ explore punctuation + impact. Paragraph three – Other aspects of the poem reflect the speaker’s inability to ‘hold’ or capture his love, such as the use of an impossible metaphor and the deterrent of the diamond necklace around her neck. ‘Sithens in a nett I seke to hold the wynde’ – impossible metaphor suggesting futility of his efforts/ ‘graven with diamonds in letters plan/ There is written her faier neck rounde abowte’/modern feminist reader response/ AO4: rather than revelling in this experience of courtly love, typically unconsummated, Wyatt’s sonnet differs through portrayal of bitter frustration rather than painful romancing. Counter argument - However, other readers may argue that there is evidence that the speaker may appear familiar with the ‘hynde’ and that some of the hynde’s actions suggest hints of reciprocation which a theory of unrequited love would not allow. ‘I seme tame’ + use of contrast to suggest appearance and reality/ ‘as she fleeth afore/ Faynting I followe’ although she ‘fleeth’ is she deliberately ‘afore’ the speaker and enjoying the attention?/ Conclusion

6. Sonnet 116
Types of love:
1) Love is constant, unconditional and strong – and removes the need for divorce
2) Love is immortal and everlasting and makes a mockery of death; it is the ultimate age defying moisturiser!
3) Love is an oppressive, tyrannical and burdensome curse that refuses to believe the idea that people can grow apart
4) A blasphemous, politicised approach to love endorsing gay marriage and homosexual love.
Quick Revision of key AO2 and terminology
Place these terms into the correct place in the revision grid… can you remember what they mean? AND... Can you remember which lines they relate to?
Personification
Volta
Hyperbole
Rhyming couplet
Religious connotations
Declarative tone
Nautical imagery
Sibilance
Iambic pentameter
Trochaic substitution
Elizabethan sonnet
Polyptoton

7. TASK: using the same essay structure idea as that in the WHOSO LIST sample… plan the overall essay response for this question
Question: Examine the view that Sonnet 116 is a celebration of true love.
Start individually
Check half way through with the person next to you- offer 1 star and 2 wishes
Finish individually
Check with your face partner at the end… how have you done?

8. Examine the view that Sonnet 116 is a celebration of true love
Paragraph one: A contemporary reader would consider Sonnet 116 as a celebration of true love. He speaks of True love ‘marriage of true minds’ / platonic love / typically regarded as noblest love / that is unchanging ‘alters when it alteration finds’ (iambic pentameter / language of marriage service ‘impediments’ / sonnet structure used for logical negation of love)
Paragraph two: His imagery is compelling and draws on manmade (mark - lighthouse) and natural imagery (star) to show how love is a source of protection and guidance- virtuous qualities associated with true love. Nautical and astronomical imagery / quatrains 1 and 2 develop his argument
Paragraph three: However, an alternative reading that may be particular shared by 21st century readers could be that it is fleeting love. Firstly, ‘tempests’ can be too violent and a lighthouse cannot guarantee survival; a star is dead by the time we see it. Secondly, the negative wish ‘let me not […] admit’ suggests his recognition of the counterargument, he is on the point of admitting adultery of some sort. Alternative reading of imagery, tentative language at start
Paragraph four: Not only could the Sonnet be regarded as faltering in its understanding of love, but it could also be read as a political poem extolling homosexual love - knowing that Shakespeare could have been writing to a male at a time when one impediment preventing marriage was homosexuality. For example, ‘It is an ‘ever fixed mark’ could invoke phallic imagery and a symbol of homosexual love or erotic love that is defiant and strong. In the Elizabethan era this homosexual love would have been considered blasphemous and untrue. Phallic eros is also considered temporary and shallow love, however, paired with more sentimental depictions of love, could consummate true love and bind two lovers eternally.
Conclusion – rhyming couplet’s function and irrefutable argument ‘ there you have it’ suggests the poet’s unaffected candour and sincerity of his conviction He is not idealistic, just optimistic and sincere. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS CONCLUSION?