Description of Poems
Sonnet 130 is a poem in which Shakespeare sarcastically praises his lover. This poem conveys affection in that the author appreciates his lover despite mocking her physical imperfections. Aside from the subject’s shortcomings, it is a celebration of her loveliness and a statement of respect and admiration for her.
“Whoso List to Hunt” is about the unrequited love of a man who chases a woman he loves, but the chase is unsuccessful. The two poems speak of love but in different forms. Imagery, metaphor, and tone are examples of poetic features that show how the poems advance their themes. In each poem, these poetic features come together to support the message of the two poems.
Imagery
Shakespeare uses imagery to address the thoughts of his audience. Line 4 of Sonnet 130, which reads, “If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head,” is one illustration (Shakespeare, 2019). Since we envision how the hair appears, he is speaking to both our physical and mental senses. Similarly, he describes his mistress’s eyes as “nothing like the sun.” The poet points out that although her appearance is “uncatchy though,” she is still attractive in her unique manner. “Uncatchy,” according to Merriam-Webster (2020), is someone or something with an awkward look. This proves that Shakespeare’s use of imagery is based on criticism and sarcasm despite showing love.
In contrast, Wyatt uses imagery according to his statements: the woman is attractive. The speaker uses a lengthy analogy to illustrate chasing a woman as being like hunting a deer he cannot capture. The poem depicts affection as a violent activity, similar to hunting. Line 3, The phrase “The vain travail hath wearied me so sore” draws up the picture of a hunter exhausted from a pursuit (Wyatt, 2019). It has been used to describe a suitor who has given up on attempting to win over his desired target.
Metaphor
Sonnet 130 uses metaphor in that it never equates the author’s love interest favorably to other women of beauty. This is evident in lines 2-4, where her lips are less red than coral, her eyes are “nothing like the sun,” and the hair on her head is black wires. Her breasts are dun-colored compared to white snow (Shakespeare, 2019).
In “Whoso List to Hunt” the author uses an elaborate metaphor to compare the speaker’s relationship to a fruitless quest. The deer is a metaphor for the target of the speaker’s yearning, and it compares affection to violence. In line 8, Wyatt uses the metaphor of trying to capture the wind in a net to describe the pointlessness of his chase of the woman (2019). The speaker is eager to get the deer, but the target has very little input on this.
Tone
The tone of Whoso List to Hunt comes across as firm and straightforward. In line 9, he addresses the person as “Who” might “list her hunt” (Wyatt, 2019). The author wishes to inform this person that he will never succeed and that he will soon realize it is impossible to find this “hind.” Collins (2018) states a “hind” refers to a female red deer. In this poem, the word “hind” has been used to describe the woman.
In contrast, the tone of “Sonnet 130” is one of sincerity. Shakespeare makes some unkind but accurate comments about his mistress’s looks throughout the poem. He is truthful, even though his words come across as harsh and spiteful, so these flaws do not worry him.
Themes
The main themes in Sonnet 130 are appreciation, affection, and physical features. The poet’s concept of beauty and the accepted standard of beauty are both presented in the poem (Shakespeare, 2019). Through the different poetic features, Shakespeare expounds the theme of the poem. Despite mocking his mistress’s physical characteristics of attractiveness, he shows his unconditional love for her.
In Thomas Wyatt’s “Whoso List to Hunt,” the theme is the idea of love as a fruitless and cruel chase (Wyatt, 2019). The poet advances the concept through the many uses of poetic work in discussing how the ‘hunt’ for a woman became unsuccessful. The poet’s emotions of chase and longing are effectively portrayed through the use of imagery, metaphors, and tone.
References
Collins. (2018). Hind. In collinsdictionary.com. Web.
Merriam-Webster. (2020). Uncatchy. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Web.
Shakespeare, W. (2019). Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun. Poetry Foundation. Web.
Wyatt, S. T. (2019). Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind by Sir Thomas Wyatt. Poetry Foundation. Web.