farmers bride Flashcards
charlotte mew
FB - CONTEXT
- depressing and deluded links to Mew as she also had mental health probelms
- she criticises society at the time - being forced into marriage was wrong and impossible to get out of - criticises powerlessness of women - how they had no choice (“i chose a maid”)
-> Mew was a lesbian and was scared to be forced into marriage
FB - LANGUAGE - quotes comparing his wife to wild creatures/plants
“like a little frightened fay”
“like a mouse”
“wild violets”
FB - LANGUAGE - what does comparing his wife to animals and wild creatures imply about her
- wild and cannot be tamed
- she isn’t human and want to be free
- she is losing her mind which relfects how Mew thought that marriage should be a choice
- presenting her as different species implies she is unkowbable to him
FB - LANGUAGE - “like a little frightened fay”
- shows a barrier between them as she isn’t human
-> he is unable to understand her and they share nothing/have nothing in common (not even human like -> shows extremity to this , hyperbolises their differences)
FB - LANGUAGE - “like a mouse”
- she is timid and shy
- powerless, meakness, trapped
- quiet and so the farmer longs to be with her
FB - LANGUAGE - “like wild violets”
- complementary and he longs for her
- describes her as inoocent and he admires her
FB - LANGUAGE - how does the poem show the bride is scared
- “lying awake with her wide brown stare”
- she is troubled and scared (of marriage)
- “wide” adjective
FB - LANGUAGE - “her smile went out”
- metaphor
- like a loss of light, loss of hope
- she is scared
FB - LANGUAGE - RQs
“sweet as the first wild violets, she, to her wild self. but what to me?”
- can’t comprehend her or get close to her
- barrier between them
- he is struggling without her and longs to be with her
FB - LANGUAGE - bleak imagery
“brown”, “blue” , “grey” , “black”
1. inhospitable, she won’t be anywhere near him (due to her being so scared”
2. hopelessnes
3. imagery of winter
- nature dies in winter, depressed, she is compared to being like animals and close to winter - relfects her depression
FB - LANGUAGE - singificance of the last stanza
- the farmer is breaking down and desperately longing for her
FB - LANGUAGE - last stanza -> “the brown of her - her eyes, her hair, her hair!”
- edwardian era -> hair shows desire and longing - sensuous overload
- breakdown in pucntuation showing his brain is shutting down
- he is disjointed and this relfects the mental illnes context bit
FB- STRUCTURE - caesura
- paticlulary in last stanza - plehtora of commas and ! and “-“ (thecnically only one “-“)
- disjointed
- thoughts break down
- mirrors and emotional breakdown
- the syntax breaks down which relfects his loss of control he feels overwhelmend and desperate
FB - singificance of the first stanza
“three summers since i chose a maid” , “too young maybe”
- thought the harvest was more important and he regrets choosing her
- not romantic and not her choice (context- women had no marriage choice)
FB - why is the brides voice silenced
- farmers perspective
- women’s voices were silenced and they had no choice to marry at the time
- shows the bride doesn’t want to speak to him - her not speaking relfects the animal and wild, natural elements about her
FB - LANGUAGE - what does comparing the bride to animals, nautre and wild things say about marriage at the time
- she wasn’t meant to be married and was meant to be free (forced and restrained marital conventions)
- she is losing her mind being this constrained by marriage which shows marriage as a dangerous imfluence on people -> especially for young people “too young maybe” - they didn’t care about the age!
- it is forcing people to be controlled when they shouldn’t be
FB - important quotes
- “three summers since i chose a maid,/too young maybe - “
- “like a little frightened fay”
- “like a mouse”
- “wild violets”
- “lying awake with her wide brown stare”
- “her smile went out”
- “sweet as the first wild violets, she, to her wild self. but what to me?”
- “brown”, “blue” , “grey” , “black”
- “the brown of her - her eyes, her hair, her hair!”
