The Farmer’s Bride

Question 1

key words to use for The Farmers Bride?

Answer 1

-objectification (treated as an object)
-sunjugation (under his control)
-marginalisation (treated as insignificant)
-dehumanisation (treated as less than human)

Question 2

context

Answer 2

Mew (1869-1928) published this poem in 1912. She is thought to have been gay, at a time when this wasn’t accepted by society. Much of her poetry deals with themes of loneliness, yearning and restriction.

Question 3

summary

Answer 3

1) A farmer has been married for three years but his bride is frightened of him and other men.
2) In the poem he tells the story of how the relationship went wrong.
He doesn’t question whether he has any responsibility for his wife’s fear.
3) He finds her rejection of him almost unbearable, but he expresses his thoughts in a fairly matter-of-fact way. He desires his wife, and by the end it seems he may be struggling to resist taking her by force.

Question 4

form

Answer 4

FORM - The poem is a dramatic monologue, mostly in iambic tetrameter, with a rhyme scheme that varies through the poem. This helps give the poem a strong rhythm that drives the narrative forward without becoming predictable. It’s written entirely from the farmer’s point of view - his wife has no voice.

Question 5

structure

Answer 5

STRUCTURE -The farmer tells the story of the marriage failing through the first two stanzas, then goes on to discuss how his wife is now, how he feels towards her, his sadness and his desire.

Question 6

language about nature

Answer 6

LANGUAGE ABOUT NATURE - The farmer mainly uses imagery taken from the natural world.
This reflects his identity, whilst his descriptions of his wife link her to images of nature and wildness.
In the second stanza she is likened to a hunted hare.

Question 7

quote about Age?

Answer 7

“like a mouse”

-simile makes her seem quiet and timid. never views her as a human being, only another animal he can own.

“little frightened fay”

-uses fricatives to emphasise harshness of the wife’s treatment. “fay” means fairy
which shows how she is more childlike than a woman and definitely not old enough to enter adult relationship.

-depiction of the bride’s youth highlights her vulnerability & the extent of her subjugation

-oppression has drained her vitality and robbed her of her youthfulness.

Question 8

quote about Obsession?

Answer 8

“The brown of her-her eyes, her hair, her hair!”

-the repetition of ‘her hair, her hair’ suggests his pain and unmet physical need for her.

-shows his obsessive desire to maintain control & exploit her completely, ensuring she remains under his authority with no autonomy and is unable to escape