The Farmer's Bride

Question 1

Author:

Answer 1

Mew (she)

Question 2

‘I chose a maid’

- DESIRE AND LONGING

Answer 2

Male authority over women (patriarchal society) - suggests she didn’t have much choice about their marriage, also reflected in title - she belongs to him.
‘Maid’ - outdated, meaning virgin or unmarried woman –> highlights her few rights and she belongs to husband.

Question 3

‘Like a mouse’

- NATURE

Answer 3

Highlights her vulnerability - small, timid and child-like.
Also implies she’s a prey animal, powerless and in danger.
Extended metaphor where she’s identified by a lexical field relating to prey which continues throughout the poem.

Question 4

‘The soft young down of her; the brown of her - her eyes, her hair, her hair!’

• NATURE
• DESIRE AND LONGING

Answer 4

Repetition of ‘her hair’ - he’s breaking down and losing control.
Focus on ‘her hair’ - a focus of sexual attraction in humans - suggests that an element of his desire relates to the small animal she has been compared to earlier in the poem.

Question 5

Compare with:

Answer 5

Porphyria’s Lover / Love’s Philosophy - farmer’s physical desire
Neutral Tones - emotional distance
Sonnet 29 - physical distance