Lines 9-12 Summary

Lines 9-10

Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I, may spend his time in vain.

• The speaker begins line 9 by echoing the poem's first lines, but here however things get a little tricky (not too tricky for us, though).
• Basically, the lines say something like this: "whoever wants to hunt this girl, he will spend his time in vain, without a doubt, just like I have."
• Yeah, we know the ordering is a little funky, and so are the phrases. "I put him out of doubt"? That's pretty much like saying, "I am sure, without a doubt, that he'll waste his time, just like I have." It's a strange phrase, and it's a little confusing but that's the gist of it.
• "As well as I" is the same as either "just like me" or "in the same way as me." We've covered "list" above, but just in case you're still wondering, it means something like "cares" or "wants." (It has nothing to do with a list, b.t.w.)
• This is the ninth line of the poem. In many a sonnet, things change right around here, which is why the ninth line is often called the "turn" (in Italian, the volta). 
• While sometimes the speaker offers a problem in the first eight lines, and a resolution in the sestet (last six lines), sometimes things are as simple as a change in mood.
• There is no real dramatic change happening here; in fact, the speaker basically reiterates things he's already said (chasing this deer is a vain endeavor, she's a bit wild, etc.). The despair deepens a little, but this sonnet isn't very… strict about that problem-resolution structure. Okay? (Check out "Form and Meter" for more.)

Lines 11-12

And graven with diamonds in letters plain
There is written, her fair neck round about,

• We do, however, learn a strange a little detail about this "hind." There are letters "graven" (i.e., written, inscribed, etched) around her neck that say something. Oh, and they are "graven with diamonds"—whatever that means.
• We suspect it is something like this, only with a different phrase. We'll get to that in just a moment.
• For now, though, let's think about these diamonds. Diamonds are expensive, so only somebody with some cash could afford to deck out a deer—er, a woman, with them. 
• Also, diamonds and writing—it sure sounds like a rich guy is trying to send a message to anybody who might be getting ideas about this deer.
• Speaking of writing, what about those "letters plain"? That little phrase-a-roo could mean a few different things. It could mean that the letters are plain, like vanilla: boring, white, not flashy. Just think of plain yogurt.
• It could also mean "plain" in the sense of clear. The letters are "plain": obvious, clear, no doubt about it.
• As we have seen a few times already in this little poem, the order of the sentence is a little funky. In normal speech, we would say something like "Around her fair neck there is written something, something graven with diamonds in letters plain." Here, however, the bit about the neck comes last, and "round about" comes last in that phrase. 
• This is very poetic folks, and cool, but there's kind of point to it. (No, you don't say?)
• Um, yeah, we do say. Sometimes, in order to make the meter work, words in the wrong places you have to put (like we just did).
• Anyway, it's kind of a pain to read sometimes, at least until you get used to it. Luckily we're here to escort you across the burning coals of Renaissance sonnets.
• Still, watch your feet.