The Farmer's Bride

farmer been married for 3years,his bride is frightened of men
1. poem is him telling the story of how relationship went down hill
  1. he desires his wife
her rejection of him is unbearable, he expresses his thoughts in fairly matter of fact way
1. by end seems he may be struggling to resist taking her by force
Form
1. dramatic monologue
2. rhyme scheme varies through poem
3. helps give poem strong rhythm driving the narrative forward without becoming predictable
Structure
1. first 2 stanzas- farmer tells story of marriage
2. goes on to discuss how he feels about his wife, how his wife is now and his sadness and desire
3. punctuation '!'- suggest frustration
Language about Nature
1. imagery of nature reflects on who the farmer is
  1. description of wife link to images of nature and wildness
2. "but mores to do at harvest time than bide and woo"
  1. too busy farming to court her properly
3. "Of love and me...like the shut of a winters day"
  1. simile-show how sudden the change was-winter days go dark very quickly
4. 'we chased her flying like a hare'-hunting imagery-suggest her terror
  1. hunting imagery
5. 'all in a shiver and a scare'-her fear expressed physically(perhaps like an animal)
6. "chat and play with birds and rabbits"
  1. she's near silent, only speaks to animals. sounds withdrawn and depressed
7. 'beasts in stall look round like children at her call'
  1. farm animals trust her-suggest he's jealous of hem
8. 'leveret'-link back to hunting imagery(young hare)
9. 'wild'
  1. connotations both of an unspoilt freedom and of a rejection of people
10. 'one leaf in the still air falls slowly down'
  1. symbolising his sinking hope that she will ever come to him freely
11. 'black earth spread white with rime'
  1. winter used to suggest the decay and death of his hopes
12. 'soft young down...the brown of her'
  1. describes her as animal-like-source of both his desire and frustration
Dialect
1. dialect words help give a strong sense of farmers character
  1. we can hear his voice in his language and grammar-adds to drama as it helps us picture the people involved
2. 'when us was wed she turned'- wasn't afraid until after they were married
3. 'she runned away' 'out 'mong the sheep, her be...properly have been abed'
  1. we can hear his voice and it's one he shares with community
4. 'what's Christmas time without there be some other in the house than we'
  1. Christmas about birth of child-they have no children because of her refusal of him
5. 'but a stair betwixt us'
  1. aware of her physical presence, adding to his frustration
'I choose'-suggest she didn't have choice in matter
'lying awake with her wide brown stare'-she's frightened to fall asleep
'we caught her face'
1. whole village seems involved- adds to the sense that she's being hunted
  1. also suggests that everyone thinks her behaviour is abnormal
'turned the key upon her, fast'-rather sinister-she's been locked up securely, hint of violence
'she does the work about the house as well as most'
1. fairly good house wife-doe what is expected of her in the relationship apart from loving her husband
'not near, not near! her eyes beseech'
1. we hear her thoughts pleading for men to keep away from her
'Shy...Swift...Straight...Slight...Sweet...She'
1. short stanza. Sibilance emphasises her link with nature
'but what to me?'
1. Rhetorical question-breaks his happier thoughts of her in springtime imagery and takes him back to winter scene
'poor maid'
1. sounds sympathetic, also suggests she remains a virgin and unchanged from when they first married
'her eyes, her hair, her hair!'
1. he's breaking down-losing control
  1. still has physical attraction to her
    1. wants to be in relationship with her
'I've hardly heard her speak at all'-never receives any love
Feelings & Attitudes
1. Frustration
  1. wants to have sexual relationship with her and have children but unwilling
2. Desire
  1. farmer clearly attracted to wife
    1. expressed in imagery he uses to describe her & his break down at end of poem
3. Fear
  1. sense of foreboding-farmer struggling to keep desire for her under control
  2. there's little to suggest that there'll be a happy ending for married couple

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The Farmer's Bride

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	Created by eilishhardy over 10 years ago