They flee from me that sometime did me seek / With naked foot, stalking in my chamber.
-- Speaker (Lines 1 – 2)

Importance: These are the opening lines of the poem, and they introduce the reader to the central conflict that the speaker faces: while his bedchamber used to be host to many quiet-footed women, he now finds that they run from him. The ambiguous "they" leaves the objects of the speaker's affection open for interpretation, allowing him to make use of the deer metaphor in the rest of the poem.

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.
-- Speaker (Lines 3 – 6)

Importance: The speaker goes on to describe the difference between his past and his present circumstances, reiterating that "they" were once tame (introducing the metaphor of the deer to the poem) but are now "wild." This metaphor is...