They Flee from Me Wyatt
Nicholas Klinkefus
ENG 3701
Preiss
Wyatt and Women Sir Thomas Wyatt’s “They Flee From Me” is, superficially, a lamentation of a lost love that, as the poem concludes, sharpens into a bitter desire to know the fate of the woman who abandoned him. The poem opens with a vague, foreboding statement that describes an unknown group that at one time sought the speaker out but now races away from his presence. Wyatt constructs a metaphor, construing this unknown group as animals that “take bread at my hand” (6). Upon further examination it becomes clear that the speaker is not actually talking about wildlife, but rather he is characterizing past relationships with women. When thought of in relation to other portions of the poem, it becomes apparent that the words “naked foot” is not referring to a hoof or paw, but the skin of a bare human foot. The last eight lines of the first stanza continue with this wildlife metaphor. When these women are with him, he characterizes them as “gentle, tame, and meek” but once their escapades are over, they become “wild…and now they range/Busily seeking with a continual change” (3, 6-7). This suggests that the speaker is able to make these women docile, but once the relationship has ended, they become wild wanderers looking for their next connection. It can be easily said that these relationships had a strong sexual component to them. Proof of this is the word choice “naked” instead of a simpler, less insinuating word such as bare (2). The bread that he feeds them then can be an emotional connection while they are together or a figurative feeding the women’s sexual hunger.
At this point, a far less innocent explication can be seen as it can be construed that the speaker is paying these women for sex. In that case, the bread becomes the payment for these services, either in the form of actual bread or money. When they become congenial, the women are adhering to the wishes of their client and once the affair is over, they go on
ENG 3701
Preiss
Wyatt and Women Sir Thomas Wyatt’s “They Flee From Me” is, superficially, a lamentation of a lost love that, as the poem concludes, sharpens into a bitter desire to know the fate of the woman who abandoned him. The poem opens with a vague, foreboding statement that describes an unknown group that at one time sought the speaker out but now races away from his presence. Wyatt constructs a metaphor, construing this unknown group as animals that “take bread at my hand” (6). Upon further examination it becomes clear that the speaker is not actually talking about wildlife, but rather he is characterizing past relationships with women. When thought of in relation to other portions of the poem, it becomes apparent that the words “naked foot” is not referring to a hoof or paw, but the skin of a bare human foot. The last eight lines of the first stanza continue with this wildlife metaphor. When these women are with him, he characterizes them as “gentle, tame, and meek” but once their escapades are over, they become “wild…and now they range/Busily seeking with a continual change” (3, 6-7). This suggests that the speaker is able to make these women docile, but once the relationship has ended, they become wild wanderers looking for their next connection. It can be easily said that these relationships had a strong sexual component to them. Proof of this is the word choice “naked” instead of a simpler, less insinuating word such as bare (2). The bread that he feeds them then can be an emotional connection while they are together or a figurative feeding the women’s sexual hunger.
At this point, a far less innocent explication can be seen as it can be construed that the speaker is paying these women for sex. In that case, the bread becomes the payment for these services, either in the form of actual bread or money. When they become congenial, the women are adhering to the wishes of their client and once the affair is over, they go on