the farmers bride

Question 1

decription of the poem

Answer 1

a farmer has been married for three years but his bride is frightened of him and other men
in this poem he tells the story of how the relationship when wrong
he doesn’t question wheter he has any resbonsibility for his wife’s fear
he desires his wife and by the end of the poem he may be struggling to resist taking her her by force

Question 2

form

Answer 2

the poems dramatic monolgue, mostly iambic tetrameter, with a rhyme a scheme that varies across the poem
its written entirely from the farmer’s point of view-his wife has no voice

Question 3

structure

Answer 3

the farmer tells the story of the marriage failing through the first two stanzas, then goes on to discuss how his wife is now, his sadness and his desire

Question 4

language about nature

Answer 4

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 wilderness

Question 5

frustration

Answer 5

he wants sexual realtionship with her and have children however shes unwilling and uncommunicative.

Question 6

desire

Answer 6

he is clearly attracted to his wife.
this is expressed both in the imagery he uses to describe her and the way he breaks down at the end of the poem

Question 7

fear

Answer 7

the wife is clearly afraid.
farmer is struggling to control his desire for her
little to suggest that there will be a happy ending for the married couple