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.
Paraphrase:
In this poem, the poet expresses his subjective experience with women in general. He shows his attitude towards woman. Yet, he expresses his view through a narrow perspective. His outlook on woman's nature is very narrow and biased. Here, he moves from the general to the particular. In both cases, he is subjective. He looks down upon woman. He shows that all women are manipulative. They come near men stealthily when they look forward to certain interest or benefit. Yet, after they get what they want, they forsake their lover. This shows that he undermines women. His view is degrading. When they reach their end, they run away and desert their lovers. This shows that he considers women to be ego-centric and materialistic. He belittles women. They manipulate men to benefit from their relationship. They walk stealthily and slowly in a proud and threatening way to come closer to their target. They act submissively to deceive the naive and silly men. After they fool men, they forsake them. Moreover, they recall how his beloved used to draw near him to benefit from him. Then, her attitude towards him turns upside down. Her delicacy and tenderness change to indifference, rejection and neglect.
This shows that fickleness of women's emotion. It is a part of women's nature. The poem is dramatic. Then, he recalls a scene from the past. This shows his nostalgia. He invokes a special relationship. He visualizes a sensual scene. She used to come to his room naked and hold him in a worm embrace. She used to be affectionate and tender. He describes a scene of seduction. He recollects her passionate and gentle words and her subdued manner. Then, he turns to present. He confirms that their relationship has not been a dream. It is real. In spite of his love, faithfulness and passion, she deserts him. She considers his love and relationship to be out of fashion. She yarns for a new relationship. He mocks her infidelity. He is sarcastic. He expresses his feeling of bitterness which is caused by her unfaithfulness. She is not sincere. Her feelings are changeable, so she proves to be untrustworthy. The poet shows that she has served him kindly. Yet, the reader sees that he says something. but he means the opposite. She is not sincere. Her feelings and emotions are changeable, so she proves to be untrustworthy.
Figure of Speech:
Wyatt uses conceptual images, which appeal to the reader's mind. There is sustained image in the poem. There is a metaphor in the first stanza. The poet compares his beloved to an animal that is domesticated. It draws near him to feed on what he offers her. After it is fed, it runs away. When it is hungry, it appears to be subdued and tame. Yet, after it snatches from the poet's hand what gratifies its hunger, it turns to be wild. This animal image shows that women manipulate men. They take benefit from men, and then they forsake them. This shows that he looks down upon woman. He belittles them. It also reflects his sarcastic mood and feeling of bitterness. Yet, the reader sees that his view is subjective and biased. He looks to woman through narrow perspectives.
Intention:
The poet wants to draw the reader's attention to the fickleness of women's emotion. Women's emotions are not constant. Their feeling and passion are changeable. He shows how women manipulate and fool men to benefit from them. As soon as they get what they want, they forsake their lovers. He belittles women and satirizes their infidelity and the mutability of their emotion. The reader sees that his view is subjective and biased. He looks to women through narrow perspective. His outlook on women's nature is distorted by his bitter personal experience.
Tone:
The tone of this poem is sarcastic and cynical. It shows the poet's feeling of bitterness. He satirizes his beloved's infidelity and changeability. He shows how women are deceitful and cunning. They manipulate men to benefit from them. Yet, as soon as they reach their purpose, they forsake their lovers. He is indignant at the fickleness of women's emotion. Women seduces men to satisfy their selfish desires, but soon they desert them. Thus, the tone shows his feeling of bitterness and sadness. Moreover, the reader sees the tone of vindictiveness. The poet shows a degrading view about women. He presents a distorted image of women. He undermines women.
Form:
The poem is written in the form of a lyric. The lyric is a short musical poem which can be sung. It is full of sound devices. It also deals with a personal experience. The poet here is subjective. He is biased against women. He judges women's nature through his narrow perspective. He reveals how he is manipulated and deceived by his beloved. He satirizes women's infidelity. He generalizes his idea. He uses many sound devices. The rhyme scheme is regular, but there is a change in the pattern of the second stanza. The rhyme scheme follows this pattern ababbcc. The change in the rhyme scheme of the second stanza reflects the shift in the tense and the tone. In the second stanza, the poet recalls the past of the relationship with his beloved. She used to be tender and gentle with him, but now she becomes cruel and hard-hearted. The change in the rhyme scheme also reflects the change in the tone. The tone is sarcastic and indignant, but in the second stanza it playful and gay. There is alliteration in "fashion, frustrating" due to the repetition of the /f/ sound. It intensifies the musical effect and creates unity between isgwords. It draws the reader's attention to the usual habit of women. They are fond of change. This shows the mutability of women's emotion. There is alliteration in "flee, from" due to repetition of /f/ sound. It shows the unfaithfulness of women because they forsake men as soon as they have got what they want. The /f/ sound has negative and unfavorable impression. It connotes disgust. There is assonance in "flee, me and seek". It raises musical effect and creates unity among words. It shows the poet's feeling of bitterness and indignation.
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