The Farmer's Bride - Charlotte Mew

Three Summers since I chose a maid

• noun ‘Summers’ - pastoral and rural tone/ highlights how long the emotional disconnect has lasted/ carries ironic connotations of warmth and growth which contrasts with the coldness of the relationship

• verb ‘chose’ - implies transaction not mutal affection as she’d objectified therefore she might have not had any say it in she was possibly coerced

• noun ‘maid’ - ‘maid’ is an outdated one meaning virgin or unmarried woman (archaic) emphasises youth, virginity and subservience, he values her innocence over her personality

too young maybe - but more’s to do

• casual tone suggest he acknowledges she might have been too young but shrugs it off, no guilt or self-awareness only a hint of uncertainty

• modal verb ‘maybe’ - shows him trying to ‘understand’ the moral blindness however he tried justifying his actions possibly feeling guilt but not enough to take responsibility which reveals his lack of awareness and dismissive attitude / AVOIDING TAKING RESPONSIBILITY >HESITATION > REFUSES TO ADMIT IT > DISMISSIVE ATTITUDE

• dash - highlights a change in thought. He began by talking about her being ‘too young’, but then changes the topic to the farm work that preoccupies him. It raises the question of his mixed motivation - reflects his rural priorites

We chased her, flying like a hare

• plural subject ‘we’ - Shows an imbalance of power. She is one against many, creates a sense of collective control or societal pressure

• verb ‘chased’ - aggressive and threatening shows that she is

• simile ‘flying like an hare’ - creates a hunting atmosphere which shows that she is being hunted and pursed rather than being protected and views the girl almost like a prey reinforcing her lack of freedom and agency

• animalistic imagery ‘hare’ - known for being fast, timid and easily frightened reflecting her vulnerability but also dehumanizes her as she’s more connected to the natural world and disconnected from humans/ she is to be controlled

• verb ‘flying’ - suggests speed and panic - she is fleeing in terror

Sweet as the first wild violets

• simile - deeply romanticised as shes described as something beautiful but fleeing as shes admired from afar but never possessed

• ‘first’ - implies rarity and delicacy

• ‘wild’ - continues the theme of her being untamed and free from human interference which reinforces the harmony between her and nature

• 'adjective ‘sweet’ - innocence and appeal but more physical than emotional so its distant sweetness

• violets: symbolises innocence and purity because of the purple colour which is associated with feminine purity reflects how the farmer views his bride as a young untouched and emotionally and sexually unawakened

• violet: wildflowers aren’t cultivated so they are grown naturally without human interference ties to how the bride is untamed but also links to his frustration as she doesn’t conform to society or marital expectations

• soothing alliteration of ‘s’ - suggest her link wth nature and how shes ocmfortable with it and harmomises with it

To her wild self. But what to me?

• marks a shift in tone as its suddenly personal and raw

• rhetorical question - he is desperate and emotionaly fustrated and reflects his sense of rejection and inability to connect with her, foreshadows his lack of control

• cesura - adds emotional distruption mirroring the fractured nature of their relationship

the brown // The brown of her - her eyes, her hair, her hair!

• colour imagery- brown is and earthy and natural colour reflecting her groundedness and fertility and mundance/natural beauty and harmony and link with the natural world reinforces recurring idea that she belongs more to natural world than human world

• reptition - creates a sense of emotional tension and fustration the farmer is overwhelmed by his inability to possess her beauty, stuttering rhythm suggests his thoughts became distorted and suggests inarticulate emotion - feels deeply but unable to exprss it in words or healthily

• list of physical features - he reduces her to her body and objectifies her

• repetition of hair - implies fixation and particular fascination - hair often symbolises sensuality or desire

• exclamation mark - emotional imtensity- not calm and collective but a burst of longing maybe anger or desperation

CONTEXT

• Mew was unmarried but was known for exploring themes of emotional repression, mental fragility and female suffering

• she lived a tragic life as several of her family members suffered from mental ilnesses

• mew challenged victorian gend3er roles

• dramatic monologue that blends romanticism and realism

• in the early 20th century men were expected to be emotionally restrained, the sudden breakdown shows the damaged caused by the fractured mariage that is followed by sexual fustration and unfulfilled expections of marriage

• Mew explore the psychological toll of isolation

• Mew often write about female autonomy and the tragedy of emotional repression > the bride is shown as a woman who does not play the roles that the farmer and society expected her to play much like many women in the Edwardian era

• women in early 20th century, especially in rural societies were controlled my gamilies and communitiesd

• early 1900s women were often married young with little say

STRUCTURE

• Iambic tetrameter - story like rhythm tone. heartbeat reflects sensual aspect of the poem and sexual desires

• 6 irregular stanzas which mirrors the farmer’s emotional state - emotional instability and increasing fustration

• inconsistent rhym scheme as the ehyme helps control the rhyms but the irregularity suggests underlying tension - the farmer tried to stay composed but his emotions break through

• rhymes sometimes feel forced or awkward reflecting the unnatural uncomfortable marriage

• final stanza is fragmented showing that he’s losing control both mentally and verbally