Unit - I REMEMBRANCE - Sir Thomas Wyatt
REMEMBRANCE
-
Sir Thomas Wyatt
-
(This poem is sometimes incorrectly titled
“Remembrance” in local syllabi.)
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 themselves 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.
Therewith all 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.
Detailed Summary
📌 Overview
“They Flee from Me” is a Tudor lyric poem by Sir Thomas Wyatt,
written in the early 16th century. It reflects on lost love, betrayal, and the
shifting nature of favor—especially in courtly and romantic relationships. The
speaker meditates on a past intimate encounter and laments how those who once
sought him now abandon him.
Stanza-wise Summary
Stanza 1
They flee from me that sometime did me seek...
Busily seeking with a continual change.
- The
speaker recalls how people (most likely women or lovers) used to seek him
out, gently and affectionately.
- He
describes how they approached him freely (“with naked foot”), even daring
to risk themselves to be near him.
- But
now, those same people have changed—they have become distant and fickle,
chasing after novelty and other partners (“a continual change”).
Stanza 2
Thanked be fortune it hath been otherwise...
‘Dear heart, how like you this?’
- Despite
the bitterness, the speaker recounts one special memory of
intimacy.
- He
describes a woman entering his room in “thin array,” and how her gown
slipped from her shoulders.
- She
embraced and kissed him, sweetly whispering affectionate words.
- This
memory stands out from other encounters as meaningful and tender.
Stanza 3
It was no dream; I lay broad waking...
I would fain know what she hath deserved.
- The
speaker asserts the memory was real, not imagined.
- Yet,
despite his kindness and gentleness, she has now forsaken him.
- She has
moved on to someone else (“newfangleness”), and the speaker is left
alone.
- The
poem ends with quiet bitterness as he wonders what punishment or fate
she deserves for her ingratitude.
💡 Themes
- Inconstancy
of Love
- Courtly
Betrayal
- Loss of
Favor
- Longing
and Bitterness
- Fickleness
and Change
🎭 Tone and Style
- Reflective,
sorrowful, ironic, and restrained in emotional expression
- Uses courtly
language, elegant structure, and rhyme royal (ABABBCC)
·
1. What is the opening line of the poem?
A) They seek from me that sometime did me flee
B) They flee from me that sometime did me seek ✅
C) They forget me now though once they cared
D) They love me still in dreams I keep
➡️ Correct line: “They flee from me that sometime
did me seek”
·
2. The speaker describes those who once sought him
as walking with:
A) Golden shoes
B) Barest toes
C) Naked foot ✅
D) Velvet slippers
➡️ “With naked foot, stalking in my chamber”
·
3. The line “With naked foot, stalking in my
chamber” suggests:
A) Disrespect
B) Modesty
C) Intimacy and boldness ✅
D) Violence
➡️ Suggests familiarity and private access.
·
4. The women in the past are described as:
A) Proud and wild
B) Gentle, tame, and meek ✅
C) Distant and cold
D) Armed and noble
➡️ “I have seen them gentle, tame, and meek.”
·
5. What is the tone of the speaker in the first
stanza?
A) Triumphant
B) Bitter and reflective ✅
C) Joyful
D) Indifferent
➡️ He reflects on emotional loss and change.
·
6. What has changed about the women now?
A) They have died
B) They have grown kinder
C) They are wild and forgetful ✅
D) They seek revenge
➡️ “That now are wild, and do not remember…”
·
7. The line “To take bread at my hand” symbolizes:
A) Worship
B) Dependence and intimacy ✅
C) Betrayal
D) Fear
➡️ They once risked closeness with the speaker.
·
8. The phrase “now they range / Busily seeking with
a continual change” refers to:
A) Their love for nature
B) Their search for new relationships ✅
C) Their spiritual quest
D) Their need for food
➡️ They’ve grown fickle and seek novelty.
·
9. The speaker thanks fortune because:
A) He gained wealth
B) He met a better woman
C) It had once been better ✅
D) He won a war
➡️ “Thanked be fortune it hath been otherwise…”
·
10. The phrase “twenty times better” refers to:
A) The quality of clothing
B) A more intimate experience ✅
C) The number of gifts
D) A reward from the King
➡️ “Twenty times better; but once, in special…”
·
11. In the special moment he remembers, the woman
wore:
A) A crown
B) Nothing
C) A thin gown ✅
D) Jewels
➡️ “In thin array, after a pleasant guise”
·
12. The phrase “pleasant guise” most likely means:
A) Dangerous look
B) Deceitful disguise
C) Attractive appearance ✅
D) Old-fashioned robe
➡️ She was dressed attractively and softly.
·
13. What happens to the woman's gown?
A) She tears it off
B) It is burned
C) It falls from her shoulders ✅
D) It turns to gold
➡️ “When her loose gown from her shoulders did
fall”
·
14. “And she me caught in her arms long and small”
shows:
A) Aggression
B) A surprising embrace ✅
C) Royal etiquette
D) Physical resistance
➡️ She embraces him intimately.
·
15. The kiss described is:
A) Awkward and cold
B) Formal
C) Soft and sweet ✅
D) Dreamlike
➡️ “Therewith all sweetly did me kiss”
·
16. What words does the woman whisper?
A) “Farewell, dear knight”
B) “Dear heart, how like you this?” ✅
C) “Beware, for this is a dream”
D) “Promise me eternity”
➡️ Quoted directly in the poem.
·
17. The speaker clarifies that the event was:
A) A trick
B) A vision
C) No dream ✅
D) A song
➡️ “It was no dream; I lay broad waking”
·
18. The phrase “lay broad waking” means:
A) Dreamed vividly
B) Slept soundly
C) Was fully awake ✅
D) Was restless
➡️ He insists on the truth of the moment.
·
19. What turned the sweet moment into sorrow?
A) The woman died
B) The speaker confessed
C) His gentleness led to rejection ✅
D) He abandoned her
➡️ “But all is turned, thorough my gentleness…”
·
20. The word “forsaking” refers to:
A) Forgetting his name
B) Abandoning the speaker ✅
C) Running away
D) Seeking justice
➡️ “Into a strange fashion of forsaking…”
·
21. The phrase “leave to go of her goodness”
implies:
A) She freed him
B) She gave him permission to leave ✅
C) She exiled him
D) She loved him deeply
➡️ She dismissed him politely.
·
22. What is “newfangleness”?
A) A type of jewel
B) Courtly etiquette
C) Fickleness or desire for novelty ✅
D) A disease
➡️ She moves on to new lovers or interests.
·
23. The line “But since that I so kindly am served”
is best interpreted as:
A) He is served food kindly
B) She was gentle in rejection
C) Bitter irony about being cast off ✅
D) A formal thank you
➡️ It’s sarcastic: he was treated poorly despite
being kind.
·
24. The final line “I would fain know what she hath
deserved” expresses:
A) Forgiveness
B) Longing
C) A desire for justice ✅
D) Humor
➡️ He questions what punishment she deserves for
betrayal.
·
25. The poem’s rhyme scheme is:
A) ABBA
B) AABBCC
C) ABABBCC ✅
D) ABCABC
➡️ It uses rhyme royal (ABABBCC) structure.
·
26. “They flee from me…” — who are “they” most
likely to be?
A) Political enemies
B) Courtiers
C) Former lovers ✅
D) Servants
➡️ The imagery and tone suggest romantic
relationships.
·
27. The poem’s speaker most likely belongs to:
A) Peasant class
B) Merchant society
C) Courtly aristocracy ✅
D) Clergy
➡️ Courtly language and personal access indicate a
noble speaker.
·
28. “They…do not remember” implies the speaker
feels:
A) Avenged
B) Flattered
C) Forgotten and replaced ✅
D) Grateful
➡️ He mourns their change in loyalty and
affection.
·
29. “Continual change” suggests:
A) Personal growth
B) Religious reform
C) Fickleness and inconstancy in love ✅
D) War and peace
➡️ The women are constantly seeking someone new.
·
30. How many specific encounters does the speaker
mention fondly?
A) One ✅
B) Two
C) Twenty
D) None
➡️ “But once, in special…”
·
31. The phrase “thin array” refers to the woman’s:
A) Jewelry
B) Thoughts
C) Light clothing ✅
D) Poetic words
➡️ An elegant euphemism for near-nudity.
·
32. “After a pleasant guise” implies the woman’s:
A) Disguise as a knight
B) Charming and flirtatious demeanor ✅
C) Anger
D) Sadness
➡️ A phrase used for pleasant appearance or
conduct.
·
33. The woman’s gown falls from:
A) Her waist
B) The wardrobe
C) Her shoulders ✅
D) The window
➡️ “Her loose gown from her shoulders did fall”
·
34. The speaker is surprised when she:
A) Leaves quickly
B) Laughs at him
C) Embraces him tightly ✅
D) Calls for help
➡️ “She me caught in her arms long and small…”
·
35. The kiss described in the poem is:
A) Angry
B) Reluctant
C) Sweet and voluntary ✅
D) Public
➡️ “Therewith all sweetly did me kiss…”
·
36. “Dear heart, how like you this?” is an example
of:
A) Irony
B) Mockery
C) Tender affection ✅
D) Formality
➡️ A whisper of flirtation and emotional
closeness.
·
37. “It was no dream” helps the speaker emphasize:
A) That he is confused
B) That the moment was real and vivid ✅
C) That it was better than real life
D) That dreams deceive
➡️ He insists the moment truly happened.
·
38. “Thorough my gentleness” implies that the
speaker’s kindness:
A) Gained him respect
B) Caused him to be rejected ✅
C) Made him feared
D) Was misunderstood
➡️ His kindness was repaid with abandonment.
·
39. The tone of “Into a strange fashion of
forsaking” is:
A) Admiring
B) Dismissive
C) Regretful and ironic ✅
D) Excited
➡️ He is abandoned despite being kind.
·
40. “Leave to go of her goodness” is a formal way
of saying:
A) He was kindly asked to leave ✅
B) He ran away
C) She begged him to return
D) He divorced her
➡️ She graciously let him go — possibly sarcastic.
·
41. “She also to use newfangleness” means she:
A) Became religious
B) Took up poetry
C) Began seeking novelty or new partners ✅
D) Moved to another city
➡️ “Newfangleness” = flirtation with the new and
trendy.
·
42. “So kindly am served” is an example of:
A) Literal gratitude
B) Sarcastic comment ✅
C) Prayer
D) Humble thanks
➡️ “Kindly” here is ironic—he was unfairly
treated.
·
43. “I would fain know what she hath deserved”
reflects:
A) A desire for reconciliation
B) A wish for her happiness
C) A longing for justice or retribution ✅
D) An end to love
➡️ He questions if she deserves punishment or
blame.
·
44. The emotional shift in the poem moves from:
A) Anger to joy
B) Indifference to love
C) Memory to irony and disillusion ✅
D) Joy to despair
➡️ It starts reflective, turns tender, ends
bitter.
·
45. The “loose gown” symbolizes:
A) Poverty
B) Royalty
C) Sensual intimacy ✅
D) Spiritual abandonment
➡️ Suggests physical closeness and openness.
·
46. Wyatt’s diction (word choice) is:
A) Crude
B) Romantic and restrained ✅
C) Political
D) Religious
➡️ Elegant, layered with emotion and irony.
·
47. The rhyme scheme (ABABBCC) is called:
A) Heroic stanza
B) Rhyme royal ✅
C) Ballad meter
D) Blank verse
➡️ A seven-line iambic pentameter form popular in
Wyatt’s time.
·
48. The phrase “arms long and small” is an example
of:
A) Hyperbole
B) Physical metaphor
C) Tender descriptive imagery ✅
D) Political code
➡️ A gentle, sensual image of the lover’s body.
·
49. The woman’s act of “kissing” the speaker and
whispering suggests:
A) Dominance
B) Affection and agency ✅
C) Fear
D) Tradition
➡️ She is portrayed as an active participant.
·
50. The poem ends with the speaker:
A) Forgiving the woman
B) Ignoring the past
C) Questioning her worthiness ✅
D) Returning to her arms
➡️ “I would fain know what she hath deserved”
·
51. The tone in “Forget not yet the tried intent”
and “They Flee from Me” is:
A) Cheerful
B) Celebratory
C) Reflective and wounded ✅
D) Neutral
➡️ The speaker reflects on personal pain and
rejection.
·
52. What kind of poetic voice does Wyatt adopt in
this poem?
A) Objective observer
B) Detached narrator
C) Personal and confessional ✅
D) Mock-heroic speaker
➡️ The poem is deeply personal and introspective.
·
53. The phrase “Thanked be fortune” is an example
of:
A) Divine reference
B) Irony ✅
C) Sincere gratitude
D) Poetic justice
➡️ He is sarcastically thanking fate for one good
moment.
·
54. What causes the speaker’s current sorrow?
A) Political exile
B) The loss of fortune
C) A woman’s betrayal and emotional withdrawal ✅
D) Illness
➡️ He recalls love and now feels rejected.
·
55. “Sweetly did me kiss” conveys an image of:
A) Force
B) Suffering
C) Soft sensual affection ✅
D) Public embarrassment
➡️ It’s a tender, romantic memory.
·
56. “She also to use newfangleness” accuses the
woman of:
A) Being fashionable
B) Speaking in riddles
C) Being fickle and flirtatious ✅
D) Practicing witchcraft
➡️ Newfangleness = love of novelty, often implying
inconstancy.
·
57. The word “guise” in “a pleasant guise” means:
A) Attack
B) Clothing
C) Manner or appearance ✅
D) Illness
➡️ Used to describe her seductive approach.
·
58. How does the speaker remember the past?
A) With indifference
B) With vivid, sensory details ✅
C) Through dreams
D) Through second-hand tales
➡️ He recalls specific looks, clothes, words, and
actions.
·
59. The woman’s shift in attitude is described as
a:
A) Reconciliation
B) Blessing
C) “Strange fashion of forsaking” ✅
D) Beautiful farewell
➡️ He is confused by her unexpected rejection.
·
60. The line “I would fain know what she hath
deserved” is best seen as:
A) A legal complaint
B) A poetic ending
C) A rhetorical expression of pain and judgment ✅
D) An invitation to return
➡️ He questions her virtue after she left him.
·
61. What poetic devices dominate the poem?
A) Enjambment and irony ✅
B) Alliteration and satire
C) Hyperbole and fantasy
D) Similes and exaggeration
➡️ Tone, repetition, and irony shape the style.
·
62. “Broad waking” in the context means:
A) Wide asleep
B) Sleep paralysis
C) Fully awake and conscious ✅
D) Waking from a nightmare
➡️ “It was no dream; I lay broad waking…”
·
63. The phrase “busily seeking with a continual
change” suggests:
A) Restlessness in love ✅
B) Market activity
C) Legal plotting
D) Military conquest
➡️ Fickle lovers constantly searching for someone
new.
·
64. What is being contrasted in the poem?
A) Past kindness vs present cruelty ✅
B) War and peace
C) Dreams and visions
D) Wealth and poverty
➡️ The poem compares previous affection with
current abandonment.
·
65. “Forget not yet” as a recurring idea
reinforces:
A) Memory and justice ✅
B) Punishment
C) Celebration
D) Religious reform
➡️ The speaker wants the woman to remember his
loyalty.
·
66. What word best describes the structure of the
poem?
A) Random
B) Prose
C) Lyric ✅
D) Dialogue
➡️ It is a structured lyric poem using rhyme
royal.
·
67. The poem reflects themes common in:
A) Epic literature
B) Courtly love and betrayal ✅
C) Religious sermons
D) Historical chronicles
➡️ Loyalty, inconstancy, and longing are courtly
love staples.
·
68. The lover’s betrayal is presented as:
A) Expected and forgiven
B) Petty and amusing
C) Sudden and hurtful ✅
D) Political strategy
➡️ The speaker is surprised and hurt by the
rejection.
·
69. What kind of love does the speaker seem to have
valued?
A) Secret and shameful
B) Temporary
C) Constant and loyal ✅
D) Political alliance
➡️ He values constancy and is wounded by change.
·
70. The phrase “arms long and small” emphasizes the
woman’s:
A) Weakness
B) Class
C) Feminine delicacy ✅
D) Strength
➡️ A poetic way to describe her daintiness.
·
71. Wyatt likely wrote this poem based on:
A) Pure imagination
B) A myth
C) Personal romantic experience ✅
D) Religious conversion
➡️ Many of Wyatt’s poems are personal in tone.
·
72. “Do not remember” in the poem refers to:
A) Memory loss
B) Forgetting past intimacy and loyalty ✅
C) Divine amnesia
D) Dream logic
➡️ He’s hurt that she forgot their closeness.
·
73. The phrase “danger to take bread at my hand”
suggests:
A) Starvation
B) Power imbalance
C) Past closeness and risk taken for love ✅
D) Feeding pets
➡️ She once accepted risk for love and now flees.
·
74. Wyatt’s style is often considered:
A) Overly dramatic
B) Emotionally raw yet controlled ✅
C) Detached and cynical
D) Unstructured
➡️ His restraint and formality amplify emotional
impact.
·
75. The most emotionally powerful moment in the
poem is likely:
A) The speaker’s dream
B) The embrace and whispered words ✅
C) The beginning
D) The moment of waking
➡️ The sweet moment that contrasts with later
rejection.
·
76. What poetic tradition does Wyatt follow in this
poem?
A) Pastoral elegy
B) Satirical epistle
C) Courtly love lyric ✅
D) Epic romance
➡️ It mourns lost affection and the betrayal of a
courtly beloved.
·
77. The woman’s departure is viewed by the speaker
as:
A) Her right
B) A tragic loss
C) A betrayal of kindness ✅
D) A noble choice
➡️ He had shown gentleness, yet she left him.
·
78. Wyatt's poetic voice in this poem is:
A) Vengeful
B) Ironically wounded and self-reflective ✅
C) Proud and angry
D) Mocking and distant
➡️ His tone is refined, but emotionally deep and
pained.
·
79. “What she hath deserved” — what feeling does
this line express?
A) Forgiveness
B) Indifference
C) Moral judgment ✅
D) Rejoicing
➡️ He implies that her betrayal merits some
consequence.
·
80. The phrase “leave to go of her goodness”
reflects:
A) A forced exile
B) Willing abandonment
C) Her polite permission to end the relationship ✅
D) Religious dismissal
➡️ She let him go – possibly insincerely or
sarcastically.
·
81. What literary device is used throughout the
poem?
A) Dramatic monologue
B) Direct address
C) Irony and recollection ✅
D) Dialogue
➡️ The poem is a personal reflection laced with
irony.
·
82. The contrast between “gentle, tame, and meek”
and “wild” reflects:
A) Growth
B) Naturalism
C) The fickleness of affection ✅
D) Animal transformation
➡️ People once tender have become unpredictable
and distant.
·
83. “They flee from me” can also be interpreted as:
A) A political escape
B) A commentary on loss of power or favor ✅
C) A hunting metaphor
D) A religious metaphor
➡️ He once had influence or affection that has now
faded.
·
84. The repetition of the word “sometime”
emphasizes:
A) Past memories ✅
B) Present conflict
C) Future hope
D) Historical confusion
➡️ He frequently refers to what used to be.
·
85. “In thin array” and “pleasant guise” imply:
A) Affectionate honesty
B) Physical closeness and seduction ✅
C) Royal attire
D) Shame
➡️ She was dressed lightly and charmingly.
·
86. “I lay broad waking” reinforces the fact that
the event:
A) Was imagined
B) Happened in public
C) Was not a dream ✅
D) Was repeated
➡️ He stresses the memory was real.
·
87. The tone of the final couplet is:
A) Hopeful
B) Resigned and bitter ✅
C) Forgiving
D) Excited
➡️ He ends with judgment and unresolved pain.
·
88. Wyatt's poem is often interpreted as
autobiographical because:
A) He directly names people
B) It mirrors courtly relationships from his life ✅
C) He addresses political events
D) It includes dates and letters
➡️ It is thought to reflect his lost relationship—possibly
with Anne Boleyn.
·
89. “Newfangleness” was a common criticism in:
A) Religious sermons
B) Tudor courtly poetry ✅
C) Greek tragedies
D) Epic sagas
➡️ It refers to inconstancy—especially in love.
·
90. The deer/hart metaphor in the first stanza
implies:
A) War
B) Escape from justice
C) Lovers fleeing from the hunter ✅
D) Nature worship
➡️ Women once came to him but now avoid him.
·
91. “Bread at my hand” uses a metaphor of:
A) Nourishment and care ✅
B) Punishment
C) Work
D) Wealth
➡️ He once provided support or affection
willingly.
·
92. The memory of intimacy is both:
A) Sacred and religious
B) Distant and vague
C) Real and emotionally painful ✅
D) Violent and controlling
➡️ He affirms the moment happened and mourns its
loss.
·
93. Wyatt’s primary audience would have been:
A) The public at large
B) Common soldiers
C) Educated courtiers and aristocrats ✅
D) The clergy
➡️ He was a courtier writing for elite audiences.
·
94. In context, “caught” suggests the woman:
A) Tricked the speaker
B) Attacked him
C) Embraced him willingly ✅
D) Was arrested
➡️ “She me caught in her arms…”
·
95. The shift from past affection to present
rejection creates:
A) Joy
B) Conflict and irony ✅
C) Political commentary
D) Religious contrast
➡️ The tone shifts from tender to disillusioned.
·
96. Wyatt’s poetic structure allows him to:
A) Hide the truth
B) Mimic popular songs
C) Express refined emotion within fixed form ✅
D) Avoid censorship
➡️ The structure balances personal grief with
poetic control.
·
97. The speaker claims he is “served” kindly to
suggest:
A) That he was literally fed
B) That justice has been done
C) That he was ironically mistreated ✅
D) That his enemies won
➡️ He was not kindly served at all—it’s sarcasm.
·
98. “All is turned… into a strange fashion of
forsaking” means:
A) Things improved
B) He misunderstood her
C) Their intimacy was followed by unexpected rejection ✅
D) She punished him
➡️ The sweet moment ended in abandonment.
·
99. The “once, in special” memory shows the
speaker’s:
A) Confusion
B) Lack of experience
C) Lingering emotional attachment ✅
D) New beginning
➡️ He holds onto one powerful romantic memory.
·
100. The poem ends with a:
A) Formal goodbye
B) Religious blessing
C) Bitterness and desire for moral reckoning ✅
D) Declaration of new love
➡️ “I would fain know what she hath deserved.”
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