Topic > The Importance of Inequality in "They Flee from Me"

In Wyatt's "They Flee from Me," the speaker considers all of his previous sexual conquests (with a particular emphasis on a "special" partner) , and then wonders why these women aren't interested in him anymore. Usually in love poetry, the man plays the role of the dominant partner while the woman is portrayed as the vulnerable or subordinate partner. However, in Wyatt's poem a reversal of the relationship occurs and the speaker is left at the mercy of the "special" woman. Although the punishment for having sex outside of marriage was much worse for women at that time, in this poem the speaker attempts to identify himself as the victim. His emotions can perhaps be linked to his position of sexual vulnerability, which would have been strange and unfathomable for a man of his era. It is clear that a reversal of fortune has been presented in this poem; therefore, the question we should ask ourselves is: how exactly was the concept presented by the author in this poem? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the first stanza, the phrase “what I sometimes sought” suggests that women were once the initiators of the relationship, but the word “flee” creates a sense of desperation in the departure of the speaker's sexual partners. Beyond that, the speaker described these women as “gentle, docile, and gentle,” or as all having relatively subordinate qualities. However, now that these women no longer frequent his chambers, the speaker considers them “savages.” In this way, the speaker promotes the unfair suggestion that a woman abandoning a man is tantamount to being uncivilized: she should instead be a "tamed," functioning member of society. The speaker proceeds to compare women to animals and bread to sexual activities. In essence, the speaker is trying to say that women used to put themselves in danger to have sexual relations with him, but now they "range" elsewhere. This supports the theme of abandonment achieved by the first line of the verse. It seems that when women do not want or do not obey the speaker, they become unfavorable and lose the function they play in his life. Therefore, it can be argued that the speaker simply sees women as sexual objects and not as human beings. This is ironic because in the third stanza the speaker complains about being a victim of sexual objectification. Furthermore, this poem suggests that sex is never the same. There is always a controlling party who seduces his submissive partner. In this case, the reversal of fortune is presented through the reversal of sexual dominance. In this stanza, a sexually dominant woman is introduced, providing a stark contrast to the meek and subservient temperament of her previous sexual partners. This is inferred from the depiction of her dress as "loose", which can be seen as a symbol of her sexual promiscuity. It's also worth noting that his fixation appears to be on the woman's clothing rather than her physicality or personality, as positive descriptions of this woman are all centered around her clothing, through phrases like "thin frame" and "nice appearance ". The word "disguise" implies that the narrator knows that this woman may be deceiving him, however the phrase "she has captured me" gives the audience the idea that they cannot help but be trapped by her manipulative and seductive advances. “Caught” can also be about hunting, which perpetuates the idea that the female is now the aggressive hunter who is seeking her male prey. You can also say that the hunting metaphor continues with the use of the word "heart" in the last line. This is because "heart" sounds similar to.