Wednesday, January 23, 2008

On Wyatt's "They flee from me"

From the Poets.org site:
... Wyatt became acquainted with Anne Boleyn, the king's mistress and soon-to-be wife. Scholars have pointed to suggestions in his poems (particularly "Whoso List to Hunt") and other anecdotal evidence to posit that he was Boleyn's lover. It is difficult, however, to firmly establish their relationship. In 1536 Wyatt was arrested shortly after five men alleged to have been Boleyn's lovers were imprisoned. Boleyn herself was imprisoned and executed for adultery. Wyatt spent only one month in the Tower and shortly thereafter regained Henry's favor. He would serve Henry VIII in various offices in England and abroad for the remainder of his life, and by all accounts was an accomplished diplomat.
It has also been suggested that the "she" referred to in Wyatt's "They flee from me" is in fact Boleyn as well. The collective "they" referred to in the first stanza are both the speaker's beloved and the tame deer that were raised by the court of Henry VIII, set free in order to become "wild" again, and eventually hunted by the upper class to which Wyatt belonged.

Link

No comments: