Edmund Spenser
Sonnet 67 Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet 67 is one of 85 sonnets from Amoretti which was written about his courtship of Elizabeth Boyle. Spenser and Boyle were married in 1594. Sonnet 67 uses a hunting themed metaphor common in 16th century England comparing the woman to a deer and the man to a huntsman in pursuit. Sonnet 67 appears to have been inspired by an earlier work by Petrarch, Rima 190, but with a different ending. In this paper we will take an in depth look at this work, also commonly referred to as “ Lyke as a Huntsman”. First we will take a look at a literal interpretation of Sonnet 67. This piece begins with a huntsman in pursuit. His stalked prey, a deer, has gotten away from him. He is tired and sick of …show more content…

But it wasn’t that she didn’t want him necessarily it was that she wanted him on her terms not his. Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet 67 “Lyke as a Huntsman” is a metaphorical piece written in the late 16th century in England for his wife in terms of their courtship prior to their marriage. The sonnet goes through the long chase after the love of a woman and Spenser’s frustration with it. It then shows him at his breaking point finally giving up. When the woman comes back and finds that he is no longer chasing her fervently she decides she does want him and they wind up together in the end. Petrarch’s version of this, Rima 190, ends with the deer, or young lady if you will, being free because she belongs to Caesar and he has branded her with a collar that makes her safe from hunters, or suitors. Spenser’s adaptation of this, along with the rest of the sonnets in Amoretti, differs greatly from other sonnets of this time period. Most other sonnets end in tragedy with the suitor unable to attain his love. Spencer’s version is rare in that in the end, he gets the