Marriage- Singh Song And Farmers Bride. Flashcards
Umbrella:
Present marriage in different ways:
SS- loving relationship
FB- loveless
Illustrating tragic nature of arranged marriages for men and women
Ts1: where as in Singh Song!, the husband’s desire for his wife is fulfilled, in Farmer’s Bride, his longing for her is unfulfilled.
‘Rowing through Putney’ and italicised speech of customers.
‘Stair betwixt us’
‘The brown of her- her eyes, her hair, her hair’
‘Rowing through Putney’
Humourously describes their love making. Simile conveys the enjoyment he takes in the physical, passionate nature of their relationship.
Italicised speech of the customers.
Is a refrain that, structurally, interrupts his poetic ode to his wife in a similar way to that in which they are obstacles to him spending more time with his new bride.
‘Stair betwixt us’
Symbolises both the physical barrier between them- they sleep in different rooms, but alternatively on a deeper level, also symbolises the emotional distance between them, which due to a lack of emotional intelligence, the farmer is unable to overcome.
‘The brown of her- her eyes, her hair, her hair’
Structurally, the broken syntax and repetition tragically emphasises his unfulfilled longing in its focus on sensory details and the fact he cannot touch her.
Ts2: the male speakers in each poem approach courtship in very different ways.
‘Chose a maid’ Too busy at harvest time to ‘woo’ her ‘Silver stool’ ‘Half price window signs’ ‘Brightey moon’ ‘Is priceless baby’
‘Chose a maid’
Father admits he chose a maid, a verb which implies that marriage was a social obligation for him- a necessity to produce the children he desires, rather than affection for her as an individual.
Too busy at harvest time to ‘woo’ her
And very title of this poem is suggestive of the fact that, like one of his animals, he regards her as his property, such details perhaps reflect Mew’s own decision to never marry- not only due to a history of mental illness, but also a resistance to having her freedom restricted in an era before women were even allowed to vote.
‘Silver stool’
Alliteration
Love transcends the most mundane of places into the most romantic
Speakers love reflected by the humorously yet touching references to the incongruously romantic details of the time he spends with his wife each day when the shop has closed.
‘Half price window signs’
‘Brightey moon’
Speakers love reflected by the humorously yet touching references to the incongruously romantic details of the time he spends with his wife each day when the shop has closed.
Love transcends the mundanity of these as they are illuminated by the that trope of romantic literature- the ‘brightey moon’
‘Is priceless baby’
Refrains in the final stanza signify that the conversation affirming their love for each other takes place nightly- Nagra’s humorous use of a mercantile lexis emphasises the serious point that true love ‘is priceless baby’- unlike the merchandise in the shop- it cannot be bought.
Ts3: The speaker in Singh Song is clearly proud of his assertive, outspoken wife, yet, in The Farmer’s Bride, the speaker seems confused and perplexed by the timidity and fear of his spouse.
‘Effing at my mum’ and ‘making fun of my daddy’ ‘Crew cut’ ‘First wild violets’ ‘Like a hare’ ‘A shiver and a scare’ ‘The key upon her fast’ Dramatic monologue
‘Effing at my mum’ and ‘making fun of my daddy’
Outspokenness is evident.
On a deeper level, his pride may originate in the fact that she can openly criticise his parents, when he feels, as a good Indian son, unable to.
‘Crew cut’
Reflects her unconventional nature.
In Sikh culture, Kesh is the practice of not cutting one’s hair as it is regarded as a sacred creation- therefore, her act is one of religious and cultural rebellion, signifying her difference from first generation immigrant parents.
