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- HUNTING: Exclusively for royalty, skill was regarded as peacetime equivalent of prowess. Common subject in Medieval and Renaissance art. Accepted metaphor for courtly love. Typically captured in song with 2 voices 'chasing' each other.
- DEER: Goddess Diana of hunting and virginity was often accompanied by a deer. Goddess typically seen as an image of dangerous sexuality.
- SIR THOMAS WYATT: Became embroiled in a scandal involving Anne Boleyn, believed that the two were having an affair. Punishment was to re-establish a union with the wife he divorced.
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- EMOTIVE LANGUAGE: 'weried me so sore' + 'my weried mynde' Highlights how the narrator is tired of the courtly love situation, he is yearning to be in a relationship with this woman he pursues.
- REPETITION: 'may' + 'weried' + 'him' Implies the difficulties of courtly love. There is uncertainty, becoming exhausted with love and the situation of two men hunting the same woman.
- METAPHOR: 'Sithens in a nett I seke to hold the wind' Implies the uselessness of hunting and foreshadows the negative ending of the poem, the 'Deere' is unattainable given her character.
- ALLUSION: 'written her faier neck rounde abowte: Noli me tangere for Cesars I ame' Historical allusion to Julius Caesar conveys symbolism of power in relationship and the extent to which this woman is unattainable.
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- CAPITALISATION: 'Deere' Highlights the prestigious identity of the female (link to context, autobiographical element?)
- RHYME SCHEME: ABBA Typical structure for a Petrarchan sonnet, mirrors song-like nature of poem. Typically read so the two voices reading would be 'chasing' each other.
- REPETITION: 'helas, I may no more' + 'I leve of therefore' Repeating the concept of quitting hunting, the impact courtly love has had on narrator.
- IAMBIC PENTAMETER: Unstressed then stressed pattern maintained throughout poem (up until line 7). Mirrors the foot movements of the hunter and 'Deer' in the chase. Also helps the song-like nature of the poem.
- METRIC VARIATION: Change in line 7 with the metre. Trochee followed by an iamb followed by another trochee. Highlights a change in the status of the relationship, as the hunter finally realises that he is not able to pursue any further.
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- E.M.W. TILLYARD (1929): 'Wyatt's professed object was to experiment with the English tongue.'
- C.S. LEWIS (1950): '[Wyatt is] the father of drab.'
- W.S. MERWIN (2002): 'It’s a dream, and then it’s gone. It is not, however, a dream that Wyatt is talking about; it’s something very much wide awake.'
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