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!
4 Comments
Eng
4/1/2017 08:39:06 am
Wonderful analysis. He is an interesting and sad man. What's your thought about comparing women to animals? I agree with your interpretation about kindly, as in sarcasm. Is he a collector of women or resentful about being lonely?
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Hannah
4/5/2017 06:19:45 am
I think your analysis is solid and hits the nail on the head. This poem is hilarious to me because it perfectly exemplifies a common trope that exists today of the "nice guys" that often gets mocked on the internet. There is an entire subreddit dedicated to it called r/niceguys. Basicly, a guy flirts with many women and may be successful for one or two dates only to get rejected. He gets rejected due to his intolerable personality, but is incapable of understanding this. He blames his lonliness on women having no standards and the fact that women only date rude sexist men, and would perfer to be mistreated than date a "nice guy", like him. This can be found in the line "she changed her tone because of my gentleness." Also, this character trope also fails to understand women as people, and often refers to them as "females", which can sounds super creepy and is a word this poet also used. This type of character also doesn't want much out of a relationship other than sex which could be found in the fact that the poet doesn't describe his relationships in any way other than women being naked for him and saying semi-erotic sounding things. There is no reference to an intimate, caring relationship with any of these women. I'm honestly super entertained to know that the nice guy has probably always existed, even in times so different from today.
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Bryce
4/5/2017 06:21:09 am
This is a very good analysis, and I agree that he wrote the poem as if he is the victim. Because of the time period and the restrictions on women, do you think it would be more common for people to see the man as the victim? This would justify Wyatt writing the poem and complaining about not having anymore lovers. Also, do you think Wyatt should compare the women to birds (I assume)? It sounds like the only reason he did it is to show that they have flown away from him to go to the next person with food for them.
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Cassidy
4/7/2017 08:23:48 am
I think your analysis is very good. I really like that you broke down each individual stanza, especially that you included which one was your favorite stanza. I think you did a very good job of interpreting kindly in so many different ways. Good job!
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