The Full Text of “They Flee From Me”
1They flee from me that sometime did me seek
2With naked foot, stalking in my chamber.
3I have seen them gentle, tame, and meek,
4That now are wild and do not remember
5That sometime they put themself in danger
6To take bread at my hand; and now they range,
7Busily seeking with a continual change.
8Thanked be fortune it hath been otherwise
9Twenty times better; but once in special,
10In thin array after a pleasant guise,
11When her loose gown from her shoulders did fall,
12And she me caught in her arms long and small;
13Therewithall sweetly did me kiss
14And softly said, “Dear heart, how like you this?”
15It was no dream: I lay broad waking.
16But all is turned thorough my gentleness
17Into a strange fashion of forsaking;
18And I have leave to go of her goodness,
19And she also, to use newfangleness.
20But since that I so kindly am served
21I would fain know what she hath deserved.
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“They Flee From Me” Introduction
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“They Flee From Me” Summary
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“They Flee From Me” Themes
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Love and Relationships
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “They Flee From Me”
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Lines 1-2
They flee from me that sometime did me seek
With naked foot, stalking in my chamber. -
Lines 3-7
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. -
Lines 8-11
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, -
Lines 12-14
And she me caught in her arms long and small;
Therewithall sweetly did me kiss
And softly said, “Dear heart, how like you this?” -
Lines 15-21
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.
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“They Flee From Me” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Caesura
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Consonance
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Extended Metaphor
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Hyperbole
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Sibilance
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“They Flee From Me” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Flee
- Sometime
- Seek
- Naked Foot
- Chamber
- Meek
- Themself
- Range
- Hath
- Thin Array
- Guise
- Therewithal
- Thorough
- Have Leave
- Newfangleness
- Fain
Flee-
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “They Flee From Me”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“They Flee From Me” Speaker
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“They Flee From Me” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “They Flee From Me”
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More “They Flee From Me” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Out Loud — Hear the poem read by actor Andrew Scott.
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Wyatt's Life and Work — Learn more about Wyatt at the Poetry Foundation.
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Love Poetry During the Renaissance — An article from the British Library that looks at the work of poets like Wyatt and John Donne.
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The Egerton Manuscript — A compilation of poems made during Henry VIII's reign, including some poems written in Wyatt's own hand.
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"Whoso List to Hunt" — An interesting article about another of Wyatt's poems, offering insight into the relationship between his poetry and Petrarch's.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Sir Thomas Wyatt
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