Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45589
To start, here is my best translation of the poem (since it was written in the 16th century, it may be a bit hard to decipher!) What is fleeing from me is what I once sought Barefoot in my bedroom. What was once gentle, tame, and meek, Is now wild and does not remember That they sometimes risk danger To take bread from my hand. Now the wander, Busily seeking something new. I’m thankful that I once had Twenty visitors. But one night especially, In a thin, pleasant dress, A woman let her dress fall from her shoulders, And held me with her long, small arms; And sweetly kissed me And softly said, “Dear heart, how like you this?” It wasn’t a dream. I was wide awake. But she changed her tone because of my gentleness Into a strange habit of abandoning; And I’m allowed to leave because of her goodness And so is she, because she is fond of new things. But since she is treating me like I’ve treated her/she is treating me so well/she is treating me like females tend to do I’d gladly like to know what she deserves. Stanza 1: The entire first stanza seems to be a metaphor. Wyatt speaks about an animal (most likely birds), but within the context of the poem as a whole, it is likely that he is actually referring to young women who visited him at night (prostitutes?). In the final two lines, “...and now they range/ Busily seeking with a continual change” (Lines 6-7), Wyatt introduces a major problem: the women that once came to him now constantly change their minds about who they wish to see, and seem to seek out new people/things. Stanza 2: This stanza introduces a shift in subject. In Lines 8 and 9, Wyatt appears to console himself. It is as if he is thankful that, even though he no longer receives visitors now, he at least had visitors. He goes on to reminisce about a particularly special lady; a pretty woman, who stripped naked in front of him and gave him a kiss. Stanza 3: *MY FAVORITE STANZA!* In this stanza, he continues talking about his woman, but his tone seems to shift at around line 16. In Line 15, he assures the reader that he wasn’t dreaming, and that the events in the previous stanza actually happened (which is a bit strange...I’m unsure why he felt the need to make such a statement; I suppose he was a braggart…?). The following two lines indicate that the woman began either playing hard to get, or started to abandon him, just like the other women. Lines 18 and 19 imply that he and the woman had agreed upon an open relationship, in which both of them are able to see other people. Wyatt states that this is “...because of her goodness” (Line 18), but his attitude seems a bit snarky, or perhaps sarcastic; this is supported by part of the following line, “...to use newfangleness” (Line 19). He seems to suggest that the woman is fickle, that she is capricious and likes new things all the time. The word “kindly” in line 20 may have multiple meanings, which is why I interpreted the line in three different ways.
Going off of this interpretation, Wyatt wonders that since the woman has treated him like women tend to treat people (a statement that is both stereotypical and misogynistic), what does she deserve from him? Literary/Poetry Techniques
Underlying messages “They Flee From Me” delves into the thoughts of a man who--after several sexual conquests--wonders why women who were previously so eager to be with him no longer want to be with him. The speaker of the poem (which I’ve assumed to be Sir Thomas Wyatt himself) comes off as the victim, who is hurt and upset that he no longer has affairs with these married women [as noted, they sometimes “...put [themselves] in danger/ To take bread at my hand” (Line 5-6), which implies that they may get into trouble by sleeping with him→ the women are most likely married or in a relationship already]. Considering that Wyatt wrote this poem in the 1500s, it is a rare turn that he is presented as the victim, when the consequences for cheating as a woman was often much more egregious than the punishment for being an unfaithful man. To close off, check out the brief bio section I added for Sir Thomas Wyatt! It contains a bit of background info about this English poet!
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Link: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/weekly-poem-root/
Brief Summary: Published in Hayes’ Wind in a Box collection (2006), “Root” is a narrative on the dichotomy of race, particularly detailing how he (presumably as a child) and his family toiled to clean their house—which was formerly owned by white people--whilst their white neighbors relaxed as onlookers. When Hayes compares his life to his white neighbors’ lives, he starts to question what is really means to be black. Primary Theme--Race: At the start of the poem, Hayes states that his “parents would have me believe there was not such thing as race” (Lines 1-2), but his experience working in his backyard tells him something quite different. From the get-go, nearly every single image in the poem describes something in nature. In general, every thing has a negative connotation, and suggests a struggle, as though the natural elements are a hindrance. In the final 15 lines of the poem, Hayes shifts the tone from blackness to light, and turns to focus on Hayes’ internal thoughts. In contrast to the “colonies of crab-weed” (Line 14) and the “wild bouquets withered in bag by the road”(Lines 19-20), he describes the white neighbors’ houses as “clean as fence posts in porch light” (Line 33), “burning with wonder” (Line 34). He fails to understand why other people in the neighborhood “knew our name before we knew theirs” (Line 31), but it is clear that his family’s presence in the neighborhood is perceived as anomalous—they do not belong, and their presence is widely known. It is in this portion of the poem where the main question arises: What does it mean to be black? Hayes states that he often dreams of his white neighbors’ lives, and he “believed we [he and his family] were made of dirt or shadows” (Line 38). From his language, being black could be interpreted to mean being considered by whites as “irredeemable, inexact” (Line 39). Being black means to dream about the luxuries his neighbors have that his family does not have—“a grill and folding chairs, a new yard boxed in light” (Lines 41-43). However, Hayes definitely states that he does not want this other life, but that “the story of pursuit” (Lines 43-44) is all too familiar to him. Literary Devices Hayes, like a lot of his other poems, utilizes an extensive amount of enjambment in “Root.” Because the perspective of the poem is that of a young boy, the enjambment here definitely creates a casual, conversational flow. The small bits of anaphora in the poem: “we” at the beginning of lines 21, 22, and 23, & “and believed” at the beginning of lines 37 and 38 are used to create a sonic effect, emphasizing the struggle Hayes and his family had clearing his unkempt backyard, relative to the “new yard(s) boxed in light” of his neighbors’. I can connect the simile “…the mute duty that tightened my parents’ backs as if they meant to work the devil from his den” (Lines 16-18) to my own life; I recall many times in my life where working in the yard or garden was a back-breaking experience. I could really empathize with Hayes and his family in that regard. Quick Opinions: Hayes' style and language of “Root” was a very creative means of portraying how racial tensions weaved their way into the simplest facets of life. Especially in the late 20th century, microaggressions (a term coined by psychiatrist and Harvard University professor Chester M. Pierce in 1970) and other slights became a casual, complacent way to degrade socially marginalized groups, including African Americans and even women. Overall, I enjoyed the poem, and I can relate to this experience on a personal level (having lived in an “affluent” golf community as a child—and being one of the only African American families living there—I definitely remember the stares and dismissals from some neighbors). Of course, there are many other poems I have yet to read and discuss! |
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March 2017
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