Question

Explain how this passage from Thomas Wyatt's "They Flee from Me" contains the complaint of a lover who explains his rejection by a woman in terms of the idea that women are parts of culture but also part of nature, like wild animals. For culture, focus on the idea of "gentleness" (being a gentleman or mannered) and on how the word "kindely" refers both to something cultural and to an idea that is animal-like

Answer 1

The speaker in Thomas Wyatt's "They Flee from Me" expresses romantic rejection using a blend of cultural gentleness and the natural term "kindely," reflecting a complex understanding of women as part of both culture and nature.

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem "They Flee from Me" by Thomas Wyatt examines the complex interplay between culture and nature in the context of romantic rejection. The speaker's complaint of being rejected by a woman incorporates cultural expectations of gentleness and the naturalistic term "kindely," which suggests a blend of inherent traits and nurtured behaviors. In the context of the Renaissance, being a gentleman was associated with cultured behavior, including courtly love and respect toward women. However, the text presents a lover who fails to see the woman as a person, instead objectifying her in terms reflective of controlling nature, as one might with domesticated animals. Wyatt uses the animal analogy to draw a parallel between the unpredictable nature of wild creatures and the autonomy and independence of the woman he desires. The lover's confusion and frustration stem from his simultaneous adherence to cultural norms for courtship and a more primal, possessive view of relationships, revealing the inherent tensions between societal expectations and individual desire.