Plastic notesheet The Farmer's Bride

1. Poetic devices and their effects – form
(ballad,sonnet,free verse, dramatic monologue),
alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, onomatopoeia,
Simile –“like the shutof a wintersday” The simile here isusedtobringaboutassociations
betweenwhathas happenedtothe girl andthe
gloomof winter.There isa sense of finalityabout
whathas happenedtothe girl.The ideaof the end
of winteriscloselylinkedtothe endof life.The
verbshutalso addsto the sense of something
irreversible havinghappenedtothe girl.Itseems
that the girl was happybefore the marriage took
place and that insome wayher happinesshad
beenextinguished.
Dramatic monologue Showsthe speaker’srawemotionsatthe
emotional distancefromhiswife
‘More like afrightenedlittlefay.’ The shock of the marriage hasbroughtabout
some fundamental change inthe nature of the
girl.A fay(or fey) isa termto describe afairy.It
introducesthe ideathatthere issomething
ethereal aboutthe girl and that she has returned
to nature insome way.
Language and its effects – what sortof words
are in the poem? Violent, loving, colloquial,archaic,
semantic fields,diction,religious,romantic language
Semanticfieldof animals –mouse,birdsand
rabbits,hare
Stresses the importance ofthe world of nature to the
wife – she is described in animal terms – she has an
affinity with animals.Perhaps itstresses how she has
more in common with the animals than her husband and
she seeks solace in the natural world.
Colloquialism–‘runnedaway’,‘out ‘mongthe
sheep’ ‘fetchedherhome’
Givesthe poema homespunrural feel –we can
see itis the worldof farmers.There isa simplicity
inthe actionsandreactionsof the wife andthe
husband
‘Whenus was wed’ The past tense suggeststhe weddingisverymuch

2. inthe past.In addition,the use of the pronounwe
isusedhere and nowhere else.Suggeststhatvery
soonafterwardstheystartedactingindependently
rather thanas a couple.
Alternative interpretations – Can quotations
be read in two ways for different meanings?
‘More like alittle frightenedfay’ The comparisonto a fairysuggests the wife perhaps has a
supernatural affinityto nature andperhaps is verydifferent
to the worldof humans – it alsosuggests that she is a very
delicate and fragile creature
‘Andturnedthe keyuponher,fast’ Sense of entrapment –couldbe read as man’s
control overwomanor couldbe readas man’s
control overunusual forcesinsociety(madness)
‘Tisbut a stair betwixtus’ The man has to come to a higherlevelof
understandinginordertobe withhiswife OR
There isa sense of divinitytothe wife (Jacob’s
ladder?)
Structure and its effects – tonal shifts,pace,
caesura,whatrhyme stresses,beginning, middle,end,
repetition,dialogue and where it happens,enjambment
Caesura– ‘andturnedthe keyuponher,fast’ Givesa strongsense of the keyturningand
trappingher.Sense of finality tothe imprisonment
– man’sdesperate needtocontrol whathe
doesn’tunderstand
Caesura- ‘Before ourlanterns.ToChurchTown’ Buildssuspenseforthe readeraboutwhathas
happenedtothe wife,suggestsachange andshift
inmovement.
Dialogue - ‘Notnear,notnear!’ Close tothe centre of the poem,we finallygether
voice – showsherdesperationtobe leftalone.
Fear of menis central.
Tone and its effects – talking aboutmoods
which are evoked and where, narrative voice
‘She turnedafraid of love andme andall things
human’
Has a tone of desperationonthe speaker’spart –
regretsherdecisionandfeelslonely –alsohas a
tone of finalityaboutit –stresses‘all’
Tone - ‘But whatto me?’ Rhetorical question dispiritedtone. Suggeststhat
the farmeris bereftandlacksunderstandingof
whathe has done – cannot fathomheractions

3. ‘Oh!My God!The down,the softyoungdownof
her’
Sensual tone – strongphysical desire.Manis
bewitchedbyher.Againlinkstohersomewhat
possible supernatural air
Imagery and its effects - metaphor,simile,
personification,visual sense
‘flyinglikeahare before ourlanterns’ Sense of beinghuntedbymen,whoare desperate
to findandcontrol her.
‘like a mouse’ She isdiminutive andmeek.Practicallyinvisible.
‘Lookround like childrenathercall.’ Again,stressesheraffinitywithnature –theyfeel
like herreal family ratherthanherhusband.Sense
that theywill neverhave childrendue tothe
distance betweenthem.Could create asense of
pathosfor the speaker
Context – authorial,social and historical Born in1869, herlife straddledthe endof the 19th
and start of 20th
Centuries –a brotherand sister
were committedtomental institutes.She didn’t
marry for fearshe mighttransmitmental illnessto
any childrenshe mayhave had.These themes
become prominentinherpoetry.
Writtenfroma male perspective –itfocuseson
the female asan outcast – someone whoisn’t
understoodandneedstobe controlled.Couldbe a
metaphorof howmenand womendon’toften
trulyunderstandeachother’snature.Although
writtenfroma male perspective,perhapsitshows
herown loneliness due toherdecisionneverto
marry.