Discussion Topic
An analysis and summary of Sir Thomas Wyatt's poem "They Flee from Me"
Summary:
Sir Thomas Wyatt's poem "They Flee from Me" reflects on the fleeting nature of romantic encounters and the speaker's sense of loss and betrayal. The poem contrasts past moments of intimacy with the present sense of abandonment, highlighting the instability of relationships and the speaker's yearning for constancy and loyalty.
How is figurative language used in Sir Thomas Wyatt's poem "They Flee from Me"?
The most obvious metaphor that governs the poem "They Flee from Me" by Thomas Wyatt is the comparison of women (or lovers) to animals, and perhaps more specifically to deer. In this unrequited love poem, the speaker--obviously a male--describes how women who formerly slept with him willingly now run away from him, much like deer who venture close to a human bearing food and later flee. Here taking bread becomes a euphemism for sex. Words such as "gentle," "tame," "meek", "wild," "range," apply both to women and to deer.
The first stanza speaks of women (or deer) in the plural, but the second clarifies the fact that this poem is really about one specific lover. Here we have sultry imagery describing the woman who initiates the relationship with the speaker.
When her loose gown from her shoulders did fall,
And she caught in her arms long...
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and small . . .
She asks the speaker "Dear heart, how like you this?" The words "dear" and "heart" are particularly effective here because they serve as puns. "Dear" and "heart" are homophones for "deer" and "hart," respectively. These puns reinforce the deer metaphor and tie the woman's seduction of the speaker to the first stanza by giving a specific example of how he was "stalk[ed]." Somewhat ironically, it is the woman who is the aggressor, the stalker, while the man is her willing victim.
In the last stanza, specific word choices indicate the woman's rejection of the speaker and his resulting bitterness. His "gentleness" is now unappreciated. She has moved on to "newfangledness," quite possibly suggesting new lovers. The word "kindly" is ironic in referring to how he feels she has treated him, and the speaker closes with wondering what she now deserves.
Summarize the poem "They Flee from Me" by Thomas Wyatt.
Sir Thomas Wyatt has the distinction of having his name related to Anne Boleyn as a potential lover, being imprisoned in the tower, yet surviving. Wyatt was reintroduced to King Henry VIII’s court. He became an ambassador to France. His marriage was unhappy because of his wife’s infidelity. From his affair, a son was born.
In his spare time, Wyatt wrote his poetry. “They Flee from Me” portrays an older Don Juan who suffers from rebuffs by his lovers. He faces his rejection with great sadness.
The poem is narrated in first person point of view. The narrator is possibly the poet himself. This man lives in a male dominated society. The men held all of the power. Understanding a woman’s refusal of his attention was difficult for the speaker to understand.
Promiscuity was the name of the game in Henry’s court. Men were married but usually had mulitiple affairs or a mistress. Women also had affairs inside the confines of marriage. Often, the women suffered for their sexual trysts with their heads or by abandonment by their husbands.
The setting of the story is the bed chamber of the speaker. Apparently, there has been a constant flow of women into his bed. Now, no one comes.
1st stanza
The women who lovingly visited his chamber now hurry away from the speaker. They came to him barefooted. There were various types: gentle, tame, and meek. These same women are now wild and no longer remember him. At one time, they endangered themselves to share his bed and eat from his hand. Sadly for the speaker, they seek change.
2nd stanza
Thanked be to fortune it hath been otherwise,
Twenty times better; but once in special…
The speaker thanks his good luck in having had these experiences that were wonderful. However, he remembers one encounter that was extremely special to him. This lady was dressed in a thin covering that exposed her to the speaker. When she took off her gown, the woman hugged the man close to her and kissed him softly. She said to him, “Dear heart, how like you this?”
3rd stanza
This memory was not a dream. Everything has changed. She has forsaken the narrator despite his gentle treatment of her. This lady has dismissed him because she enjoys new things and lovers. Apparently, this woman is fickle and prefers to bed men that she fancies. The speaker has lost his place in her life. He would like to think that it is his gentle nature that has turned her aside.
Thematically, there are a number of issues that Wyatt alludes to in his poem. Sexuality and his sexual encounters are at the center of the poem. He also reminiscences about abandonment and the women that once came to him that are nowhere to be found. In fact, he feels as though they run from him when he is enters the room.
In addition, the speaker lives in a time when men were the ones who usually chose their lovers. Caught in a new circumstance, the speaker finds himself in a quandary about what has happened to his love life.
Explain the poem "They Flee From Me" by Thomas Wyatt.
Sir Thomas Wyatt was a part of the court of King Henry VIII. Those were dangerous times. Wyatt was jailed for sleeping with Anne Boleyn, the infamous queen whomHenry beheaded. He was proven innocent.
Wyatt's poem published in 1557 (after his death), tackles this subject of sex out of wedlock. The narration employs the first person speaker who has engaged in this entertainment. Through the perspective of this speaker, "They Flee from Me" reflects on the sexual culture of Henry VIII's court. The sexual activity in Henry’s court was indiscriminate and rampant. It did not matter if either party was married unless a person was caught.
The form of the poem is called rhyme royal which means that each stanza has seven lines and follows an exact rhyme scheme. It is written in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCC. There are three rhyme royals in this poem. Each stanza has a specific purpose:
- He has had many lovers, but for some reason they do not come to him anymore.
- There was a special love that seems to haunt him.
- She was real to him, but now he must let her go.
The speaker has been quite the lover. He is older now and possibly less desirable than he had been. This is a sixteenth century “Don Juan.” Apparently, he never locks his door because many ladies have entered in to this man’s bedroom.
This is an unusual poem for the time period because normally the man is in charge and is the great lover of women. In this reverse poem, the ladies have dumped the man. He is hurt and having a hard time knowing how to handle this rejection.
I have seen them gentle, tame, and meek
That now are wild and do not remember
That sometime they put themselves in danger …
And now they range
Busily seeking with a continual change.
The narrator has beautiful memories of all the lovely ladies that have entered his bed chamber. They do not come to him but seek their pleasure in other places. Now these women forget the danger and behave rashly.
He has a special memory of one lady whom he remembers passionately kissed him and tried to please him in every way. This was not a dream. He cannot sleep for wondering why she now behaves in such an odd way. Because he is such a gentleman, he wishes that he could give her what she deserves. It is unclear if he is being truthful or sarcastic.
It is hard to judge the speaker because he gives the reader no information about himself. Since he was supposedly involved with Anne Boleyn, it might be his incarceration in the tower that has turned the ladies away from him. In addition, this lovely lady that he wonders about may be Boleyn herself. Of course, this is just speculation.