They Flee From Me, by Sir Thomas Wyatt

They Flee From Me, by Sir Thomas Wyatt

Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42) lived nearly all his life during the reign of King Henry VIII and died more than twenty years before William Shakespeare was born. This means that modern readers of his poems must expect to encounter difficulties in understanding them, especially when apparently familiar words have changed their meanings over the centuries. "They Flee From Me" is a case in point.

The poem

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;
Therewithall 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.

Discussion

The poem comprises three seven-line stanzas with an ABABBCC rhyme scheme, so that each stanza resembles a half-sonnet (like a Spenserian sonnet with lines 6 to 12 removed). Wyatt's poetry has been criticised for the clumsiness of its metre, and editors have been tempted to "tidy" his poems so that they read more smoothly. However, the stresses that are forced on to the words are probably deliberate, and there is an almost "modern" feel to the diction of this poem that seems entirely right for its meaning. 

The opening stanza presents a puzzle with the very first word. Who, or what does Wyatt mean to indicate by "they" in "They flee from me, that sometime did me seek"? The reference might be to animals that "sometime … put themselves in danger / to take bread at my hand", but that does not seem to accord with the second line's description of "With naked foot, stalking in my chamber". The use of "naked" suggests a human foot, and "stalking" implies stealthy movement by a person. However, in 16th century usage, "naked" could simply mean "manifest" or "evident", and "stalking" can just mean "walking", which could apply to an animal as well as a person.

The ambiguity allows the reader to see both animal and person (presumably female) in this image, and to imagine that the poet is switching between memories of having both animals and women "eating out of his hand". Whether or not this is particularly complimentary to women is another issue. However, the fact remains that "they" "now are wild" and "range busily" as they pursue "continual change".

There is also a tone of self-pity in the first stanza. The poet bemoans the fact that "they" have left him and clearly wishes that they had not done so, but at the same time he appreciates that "they put themselves at danger". He therefore sees himself as possessing a power over animals or women that he could have exercised had he chosen to do so. He is not just the passive victim of chance happenings but a potent force.

This theme of being a potential predator in the game of love is stressed in the second stanza when the poet boasts that "it hath been otherwise / Twenty times better". He then relates a particular encounter with an unnamed "she" who "let her loose gown from her shoulders … fall". This takes us back to the "naked foot … in my chamber" and removes all ambiguity as to the human nature of the being who has visited him.

However, the third stanza confirms the prediction of the first, which is that the special encounter was a short liaison and the couple are no longer together. The parting has been by mutual consent. Despite the implied threat of sexual power gathered from the first stanza, the poet has lost the woman "through my own gentleness" and, likewise, "I have leave to go of her goodness". This is indeed "a strange fashion of forsaking" because it is done with little regret as each partner moves on to someone else. At the end, the poet merely wonders ("I would fain know") how she is doing now and whether her next conquest is "what she hath deserved".

This poem must have been deeply shocking to Victorian readers, who would have condemned the immorality of easy sexual encounters and "one night stands" that is portrayed in this poem. It was mentioned above that the diction is surprisingly modern, but so is the message and tone of the poem. This is the world of 1960s "free love" and 21st century "swinging", in which couples come together and break apart without any desire for permanence on either side, but merely a seeking after sexual pleasure and novelty, or "newfangleness" to use Wyatt's term.

However, is there just a hint here that Wyatt wishes it might be otherwise? He is happy to play this particular game of partner switching, but why write this poem at all if he had not had the feeling that this one girl was perhaps the special one? He uses the term "in special", which suggests that this might be the case. He has stuck to the rules, when he might not have done, but, just this once, he could have acted differently. "They Flee From Me" is the result of this lingering regret.

Just as a footnote, it is worth remembering that Sir Thomas Wyatt was a courtier to King Henry VIII and was involved in the negotiations with Pope Clement VII that sought the annulment of Henry's marriage to Queen Catherine after the king had become enamoured of Anne Boleyn. Wyatt therefore knew all about the casual sexual relationships that were rife in this environment. His own marriage foundered on the grounds of adultery, and Queen Anne's downfall was to come about after tales of bed-hopping (real or invented) flew around the Court. "They Flee From Me" is therefore very much a poem that belongs to this era.