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They Flee From Me, That Sometime Did Me Seek
Sir Thomas Wyatt
SIR
THOMAS
WYATT
1503-1542
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Wyatt served under the reign of
King Henry VIII.
Since the Tudor reign was enmeshed in
infidelities as evidenced by the king,
Wyatt most likely engaged in similar
behaviour (as this poem suggests).
Wyatt was also rumoured to be Anne
Boleyn's lover, for which he spent a
month in the Tower of London until she
was executed for adultery. (Boleyn was
the king’s second wife.)
Over his lifetime, Wyatt was in and out
of favour with the king and in and out
of prison.
His poetry, lyrics, and satires reflect his
life’s experiences.
Thomas Wyatt lived from 1503 to 1542 in England.
This was a time of stirring political events during the reign of
King Henry VIII and, as a young diplomat at the King’s court,
Wyatt had to quickly learn how to tread carefully to stay in
favour with this charismatic and egotistical but insecure monarch.
Henry had married Anne Boleyn, considered a beautiful and
brilliant woman, in defiance of the Pope’s refusal to annul his
earlier marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
Along with five other men, Wyatt was
accused of adultery with Anne and
imprisoned in the Tower of London.
He is likely to have witnessed, from his cell window, her execution in
1536.
Wyatt himself escaped a similar fate through an intervention by Henry’s
advisor, Thomas Cromwell, with whom his father had some influence.
Wyatt enjoyed some favour at court until he was imprisoned on an
accusation of treason, yet again was pardoned, following which he died
at only 39 years of age.
Wyatt has been referred to as the father of English poetry. During his
lifetime, English was a relatively young language, so Wyatt was able to
experiment with many different European verse forms, to secure a place
of honour for English poetry alongside those of the great and ancient
classical cultures.
Some 150 poems, written by Wyatt, remain in circulation today and are
much admired.
Have you ever observed the ‘trendy crowd’ of young
people in your circle?
Are you able to explain why one person may be the
most popular at any given time?
Perhaps you were that person for
a while, the one all the girls or
boys wanted to be around?
Does this popularity last?
And how does it feel to lose
that popularity or never be
the chosen one?
“They Flee From Me” expresses an idea
that most modern readers can relate to:
love and relationships are complicated!
In the poem, the speaker tries to make
sense of the fact that while women use to
“seek” him, now they actively avoid him.
The speaker puzzles over how drastically
the relationship between two people can
change; how what was once an intense,
exciting intimacy can so quickly become
a cold kind of distance.
They Flee From Me Poem Summary and
Analysis | LitCharts
THEY FLEE FROM ME, THAT
SOMETIME DID ME SEEK
They flee from me that sometime did me seek
With naked foot, stalking in my chamber.
I have seen them gentle, tame, and meek,
That now are wild and do not remember
That sometime they put themself in danger
To take bread at my hand; and now they range,
Busily seeking with a continual change.
Thanked be fortune it hath been otherwise
Twenty times better; but once in special,
In thin array after a pleasant guise,
When her loose gown from her shoulders did fall,
And she me caught in her arms long and small;
Therewith all sweetly did me kiss
And softly said, “Dear heart, how like you this?”
It was no dream: I lay broad waking.
But all is turned thorough my gentleness
Into a strange fashion of forsaking;
And I have leave to go of her goodness,
And she also, to use newfangleness.
But since that I so kindly am served
I would fain know what she hath deserved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uVxUqpeuQ8
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
About a woman/women who were his girlfriend/s
and were close to him but now they ignore
him/are not interested in him anymore. He has lost
his popularity with the ladies.
The poem captures the sense of confusion, regret,
and bitterness that can come with the end of a
relationship.
https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/sir-thomaswyatt/they-flee-from-me
“THEY FLEE FROM ME” SUMMARY
These days, my ex-lovers avoid me—the same people who used to sneak
barefooted into my quarters. I remember them as shy, gentle creatures. Now
they're wild, and don't even remember how they used put themselves at risk just
to come and take a piece of bread from my hand. Nowadays they roam about,
constantly seeking something new.
I'm glad that things used to be better—much better, in fact. I remember one
particularly special occasion when a lover came to see, scantily dressed after an
enjoyable show. Her gown easily slipped off of her shoulders, and she held me in
her long, small arms and gently kissed me, asking me in a whisper how I liked it.
That wasn't a dream: I was wide awake. But everything has changed because I
was too gentle and nice, and now she totally ignores me. She lets me do my thing
while she focuses on her own fickle needs. Since she's never blatantly mistreated
me it's hard to know how to feel about her.
IN SIMPLE WORDS:
‘The people who used to love spending time with me, now actively run
away when they see me coming. They used to come to my bedroom
and lie with me, naked and tame and gentle; now they are like wild
animals which cannot be tamed, and it’s as if they don’t even
remember that they used to put themselves in danger by associating
with me, like friendly animals eating bread from my hand. Now they
are like wild animals who roam around, seeking something new all the
time. Thankfully, in the past things were different, and twenty times
better for it: I remember once, in particular, one female associate of
mine was wearing skimpy clothing after a pleasant show, and her loose
gown fell from her shoulders and she caught me in her long, slender
arms, and kissed me sweetly. It wasn’t a dream: I was wide awake. But
now everything has been ruined, because I’m too nice for my own
good, and she forsakes me. I am free to let her go, and she can go
with new people. But, since she has seen fit to use me in such a way, do
you think she deserves my kindness?’
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/01/13/you-get-what-you-deserve/
MOOD
Despair and loneliness.
STRUCTURE
o The poem employs rhyme royal,
a seven-line structure using
iambic pentameter with the
rhyme scheme ABABBCC.
(Each stanza is like half of one
sonnet.)
o The tercet and couplets comprise
lines 1-7 (ABA BB CC); the
quatrain and tercet, are used in
lines 8-14 and 15-21 (ABAB
BCC).
o The poem presents three key
ideas.
TITLE
The poet uses the first line of the poem
as his title, a repetition which
emphasises his astonishment and
indignation at how the women, who
used to pursue him, now run from him.
The title also corresponds to the
metaphor in the opening lines, which
compares the women at court to timid
wild animals that once would go
tamely to his side, but now run from
him in fright.
Note ambiguity of pronoun.
Previous
lovers.
No
shoes
on
The “foot” alleviates
ambiguity of pronoun
and suggestions the
metaphor of a bird or
animal (“stalking,” and
“gentle, tame, and meek.”
They flee from me that sometime did me seek
With naked foot, stalking in my chamber.
I have seen them gentle, tame, and meek,
That now are wild and do not remember
Contrast of past and
present behavior reflects
That sometime they put themself in danger
speaker’s wounded
To take bread at my hand; and now they range, nature.
Busily seeking with a continual change.
extended metaphor
portrays love and
sex as a kind of hunt.
The use of assonance and consonance
reinforce the ease with which the
women/doe “flee.”
The speaker derides women for “fleeing”
him—for remaining “wild.” Ironically, he
castigates these women for acting naturally
(“seeking…change”) for it was their natures
that allowed him to enjoy their company.
This enjambment highlights this division.
Iambic pentameter: They flee | from me | that some- | time did | me seek
These days, my ex-lovers avoid me—the same people who used to sneak barefooted into
my quarters.
I remember them as shy, gentle creatures.
Now they're wild, and don't even remember how they used put themselves at risk just to
come and take a piece of bread from my hand.
Nowadays they roam about, constantly seeking something new.
“It” is another ambiguous reference
to the romantic visits (which were
twenty times better). The reference
is unclear.
In the past, women
were loving and
gentle and wanted
to be with him.
Fortune is personified to show speaker’s awareness that his
experiences with women were a result of luck, not devotion.
Consonance of
the letter “t”
reinforces the
frequency of the
visits when he
believed that
“she” was
devoted to him.
Thanked be fortune it hath been otherwise
Twenty times better; but once in special,
In thin array after a pleasant guise,
When her loose gown from her shoulders did fall,
And she me caught in her arms long and small;
Therewith all sweetly did me kiss
And softly said, “Dear heart, how like you this?”
Diction, which is
stressed by the syntax,
reflects animal imagery.
Dialect reveals woman’s power over speaker
as the male seducer becomes the seduced.
Alliteration stresses his memory of this
one encounter, this one woman.
I'm glad that things used to be better—much better, in fact. I
remember one particularly special occasion when a lover came to
see, scantily dressed after an enjoyable show. Her gown easily
slipped off of her shoulders, and she held me in her long, small
arms and gently kissed me, asking me in a whisper how I liked it.
Sibilance is a type of literary device and figure of speech wherein a
hissing sound is created in a group of words through the repetition of 's'
sounds. For example, “Sarah's silly sister swallowed her sweet.” Sibilance
can also include more than just 's' sounds. Many people believe that
sibilance includes any letter groups that create a hissing sound, including
repeated "sh," "th," "f," "z," and "v" sounds.
He recognizes the woman as a person, not
a bird/deer, but the reversal of their roles
upsets him as “It was not dream.”
It was no dream: I lay broad waking.
But all is turned thorough my gentleness
Into a strange fashion of forsaking;
And I have leave to go of her goodness,
And she also, to use newfangleness.
But since that I so kindly am served
Final couplet betrays
his emotional turmoil.
Speaker notes that she
took her role from
him (“my gentleness”).
This confuses him.
Does she deserve
kindness or
punishment? He
choses to ask the
reader.
Diction suggests that
the woman is fickle.
I would fain know what she hath deserved.
“Kindly is used
ironically and
leads to his use
of “fain” as he
infers she
“deserves”
punishment,
which is
contrary to what
a man in the
same position
would “deserve.”
Speaker’s tone
could reflect
Wyatt’s affair
with Anne or his
wife’s adultery.
Looking for new
relationships. He is
not wanted by her
anymore. He is not
what is wanted/in
fashion.
Definition of
'newfangleness'
1. newly come into
existence or
fashion, esp
excessively
modern. 2. rare.
excessively fond
of new ideas,
fashions, etc.
That wasn't a dream: I was wide awake. But everything has changed because I
was too gentle and nice, and now she totally ignores me. She lets me do my thing
while she focuses on her own fickle needs. Since she's never blatantly mistreated
me it's hard to know how to feel about her.
Tone
The speaker’s tone shifts from one of male arrogance to hurt pride. He questions the actions of a
female who acted like a male, which leads to a bewildered tone on his part.
Theme
Wyatt is also known for his satirical
writing and was verbose about his peers.
No longer considered part of the ‘incrowd’, girls shun him to pursue other
more ‘fascinating’ or fashionable men.
Therefore, think of this poem as a love
song; about losing someone you love
and the loss of some of your illusions.
Message
The poem is a satire on society, how
superficial and shallow relationships can
be, and how hurtful it is when one’s
emotions are played on carelessly and
callously.
Consider the way Wyatt uses contrasts
to convey his message about his lost
loves.
FORM AND STYLE
Historically, Thomas Wyatt straddles the literary period between
Chaucer and Shakespeare and his experiments with poetry forms
a bridge across those eras. The featured poem is written in a
form relative to a sonnet, called rhyme royal. Chaucer, in his long
poem ‘Troilus and Criseyde’, was the first of the English poets to
use rhyme royal, which is a tightly constructed format, written in
three stanzas of 7 lines, using a rhyming formula of ababbcc.
Read it aloud and you will naturally fall into a rhythmic delivery;
that most natural of English-speaking cadences immortalised in
Shakespeare’s plays, the iambic pentameter. The iambic
pentameter is a 10-syllable line, divided into five ‘feet’, each
with a first and unstressed syllable, followed by a stressed one –
tada tada tada tada tada. There are occasional lapses from this
pattern, but it largely fits the flow.
Consider the nuances between poetry and song. A lot of poetry
has a melodious quality that closely touches our emotions. Wyatt’s
poem is a lyric, further knitting it into the idea of a song.
Wyatt translated many of Francesco Petrarch’s Italian sonnets into
English. These were romantic poems inspired by the love the Italian
poet had for a woman named Laura. It is likely this that influenced
Wyatt to adopt a very personal, emotional, and reflective style in
his compositions, initiating a movement away from the courtly
idealised representation of love. His poems contain very intimate
confessions and feelings.
It is ironically amusing that Wyatt expressed his indignation in the
poem, about the way women treat him since he was quite the
playboy.
SUMMARY
❖ The speaker in this poem reverses
the usual male-female roles in
sexual liaisons by empowering the
women who are as promiscuous as
he.
❖ This reversal is reinforced by
comparing his conquests to prey,
which emphasises the irony of his
surprise when the “prey” chooses to
remain free.
❖ As the speaker continues from the
general to the specific, he focuses on
one woman, perhaps Anne Boleyn
who married Henry VIII.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZY69fnpF8o&ind
ex=19&list=UUAiABuhVSMZJMqyv4Ur5XqA
Extras:
OUTLINE
Wyatt describes his love life noting the girls who used to pursue
him, craving his attention, now seem to run from him. As a member
of King Henry VIII’s court, which was underscored by illicit liaisons
and conspiracies, there was an element of danger in who you were
associated with.
Wyatt tells us women used to visit him in secret despite the risks, but
in restlessly looking for new sensations, these women would quickly
pursue other relationships. He dwells gratefully on memories of his
liaisons, particularly that of one romantic evening with an
unidentified woman.
The poem has a somewhat bitter note as Wyatt reflects on how,
through no fault of his own, women now avoid him to follow other,
more fashionable men.
HTTPS://INTERESTINGLITERATURE.COM/2017/01/A-SHORTANALYSIS-OF-SIR-THOMAS-WYATTS-THEY-FLEE-FROM-ME/#
He admires from a distance, but unlike many of the courtly love poets, he
did once know what it was like to be close to the woman he worships – she
shared her body with him, putting herself in danger (the Tudor court was a
world of backstabbing and one-upmanship), and even sought him out,
making the first move. And now she has got tired of him and moved on.
But it’s the language employed by Wyatt, as well as the images of
women at court as wild animals, which gives ‘They Flee from Me’ its real
power. For instance, ‘gentle, tame, and meek’ in the third line of the first
stanza seems repetitive: surely they all mean the same thing? Well, not
in a world in which ‘gentleness’ denotes social standing and breeding as
well as individual kindness (consider the older meaning of ‘gentleman’
here), thus giving that word an extra layer of meaning. ‘Continual
change’ doesn’t strike us as oxymoron for the sake of oxymoron: after
all, for Wyatt the women’s fickleness is, paradoxically, their one
consistent quality. And note how ‘served’ and ‘deserved’ are not simply
rhymes in that final couplet: ‘deserved’ repeats ‘served’, turning that
soft ‘s’ into a harsh one as the poem hardens into bitter resentfulness.
https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/sir-thomaswyatt/they-flee-from-me
Alliteration is used throughout "They Flee From Me." In the first two lines, for
example, soft /f/ sounds combine with sibilance to create a hushed
atmosphere:
They flee from me that sometime did me seek
With naked foot, stalking in my chamber.
The /s/ sound has a particularly whispery quality to it, suggesting that there
was something dangerous or illicit about the romantic meetings the speaker
here recalls. That quietness fits with the idea of a predator "stalking" its prey,
patiently waiting for the right moment to strike.
https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/sir-thomaswyatt/they-flee-from-me
In the second stanza, the speaker remembers a cherished night that he spent
with his ex-lover. Life was "Twenty times better" than it is now, the speaker
says, the alliteration working to intensify this sentiment (which can be read as
a kind of exaggeration or hyperbole); that double /t/ sounds makes the phrase
stand out all the more strongly for the reader.
Later in the same stanza, the poem returns to the sibilant /s/ sound to suggest
passion and intimacy:
And she me caught in her arms long and small;
Therewithall sweetly did me kiss
And softly said, “Dear heart, how like you this?”
The breathy /h/ sounds and additional consonance of /s/ sounds contributes
to the effect here, evoking a hushed—but erotically charged—atmosphere.
https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/sir-thomas-wyatt/they-flee-from-me
Another example of alliteration appears in line 17:
Into a strange fashion of forsaking;
Here, the speaker is wondering if his lover's change of heart is part of a new
"fashion of forsaking." That is, he suspects that there is a new trend in town,
one which involves no longer remaining loyal to him in order to pursue other
love interests. He sees it as a kind of artifice or pretension, which he struggles
to reconcile in his mind with the emotional and physical intimacy of the
moment described in the second stanza. Alliteration is one way in which the
poem can perform this kind of artifice, reminding the reader that the poem is
something constructed and deliberate. The /f/ is sound is strikingly visible, like
a new style of hat that everyone suddenly seems to be wearing around town.
The poem's penultimate line turns the earlier /s/ alliteration on its head:
But since that I so kindly am served
These /s/ sounds have an embittered quality, as though the speaker is talking
through gritted teeth.
Activity 1SG2 p51
1. Refer to lines 1 and 2. Describe how women would ‘seek’ him.
2. Refer to stanza 1. Compare the behaviour of the women the
speaker knew in his past to those he currently meets.
3. Refer to stanza 2. Explain how the poet uses syntax
(arrangement of words) to reflect the power balance in the
relationship with this particular woman.
4. Refer to line 14, beginning: ‘And softly said …’ Discuss the
effectiveness of the use of the sound device in this line.
5. How does the diction in line 16 reflect the speaker’s point of
view?
6. Refer to stanza 3. Discuss the tone of the line: ‘And I have
leave to go, of her goodness.’
7. Comment on the effectiveness of the form of this poem.
Jot down ideas about the poem’s form
and structure.
What sound devices are used? Why are
they used?
How is the mood of despair and
loneliness made clearer though these
aspects?
EXTENSION IDEAS TO THINK ABOUT
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https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2013-03-16
WORKS CITED
❖
http://www.enotes.com/topics/they-flee-from-me
❖
http://www.gradesaver.com/collected-poems-of-sir-thomaswyatt/study-guide/section5/
❖
http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/poetry-analysis- they-fleefrom-me-by-sir-thomas-wyatt-8109/
❖
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/wyattbio.htm
❖
http://www.shmoop.com/they-flee-from-me/summary.html
❖
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/4350/poem2407.h
Tml
https://interestingliterature.com/2017/01/a-short-analysis-of-sir-thomaswyatts-they-flee-from-me/#
Poems from all over
Impaq Grade 10 HL Study Guide 2 p47-51