the farmer's bride

what is “The Farmer’s Bride” about?

it is about a farmer who marries a young girl that eventually tries to run away, and is chased by him and townsfolk, and doesn’t engage with her husband, as she prefers animals to him, and we clearly see she is miserable

“when us was w__ she t______ a_____ of l___ and me and all t_____ h_____; like the shut of w______ day”

“when us was wed she turned afraid of love and me and all things human; like the shut of winter’s day”

Analyse “when us was wed she turned afraid of love and me and all things human; like the shut of winter’s day”

“when” - marriage directly affected bride and was the turning point of how she viewed men

“us” inclusive pronoun - farmers see them as a unit/couple despite her hostility, and shows how he desires a partnership

“and…and” - polysyndeton adds to impression of her being overwhelmed

“love and me and all things human” - rule of three - emphasises fears/anxieties that his wife develops of all things

“when us was wed” - alliteration imitates question sound, which highlights confusion at her behaviour - also imitates sound of quivering, which depicts his sadness at her behaviour.

“shut of winter’s day” - simile - emphasises how quickly she withdraws, and “shut” evokes an image of hostility, force and suddenness (of her cold behaviour towards her husband) - also winter days get dark early so it emphasises how quickly things took a turn

“shy as a l_____, s____ as he, s_____ and s____ as a y____ l____ tree, s_____ as the first w____ v______, she, to her w___ self. But w___ to me?”

“shy as a leveret, swift as he, straight and slight as a young larch tree, sweet as the first wild violets, she, to her wild self. But what to me?”

Analyse “shy as a leveret, swift as he, straight and slight as a young larch tree, sweet as the first wild violets, she, to her wild self. But what to me?”

“shy as a leveret” - zoomorphism - displayers her complete lack of societal expectations, and a leveret is a baby hare, which further emphasises her youth and vulnerability

“sweet” - desires a physical relationship with her

“straight and slight as a young larch tree” - simile - unusual way in which he describes her slender, unfeminine body which reiterates that the girl is very young, as she may not have reached puberty yet, and adds to image of her timidness and fragility

“wild…wild” - repetition - she doesn’t conform to society’s traditional gender expectations

“first wild violets” - continues to objectify her, although he finds her beautiful, which is expected as he is a farmer, so he can only describe her in comparison to what he knows, which is animals and plants

“but what to me?” - rhetorical question - sense of loss, as he believes their marriage is futile if he cannot even connect with her, and “me” is personal pronoun, reflecting how farmer wants to be seen, and shows how farmer and girl’s life is destroyed by their marriage

“she s______ up in the a_____ there/ a_____, p___ m____. Tis but a s___ b______ us”

“she sleeps up in the attic there/ alone, poor maid. Tis but a stair betwixt us”

Analyse “she sleeps up in the attic there/ alone, poor maid. Tis but a stair betwixt us”

“she sleeps” - sibilance - conveys the hopelessness he feels and lack of communication that is between them - also it displays his soft, admiring tone as he thinks about his wife

“attic” - highest point of he house, which symbolises physical and emotional distance between them, and there is a power shift, as she is above her husband and must descend to be with him, as she is the only on who can repair the relationship between them

“alone, poor” - enjambment - reinforces separation and represents his longing for a relationship with her - also evokes speaker’s sympathy for his bride as he uses a mournful tone and shows lack of intimacy between them

“Tis but a stair betwixt us” - reflects their emotional distance which is insurmountable - “stair” displays metaphorical distance between them which is physical and mental - “us” is an inclusive pronoun, which shows how he still longs and hopes for a reconciliation

What is the form/structure of poem?

form - dramatic monologue - we only see their relationship from his perspective

irregular structure - relationship doesn’t conform to traditional expectations

long length - mirrors his long period of suffering, as there is a continuous passing of seasons which displays length of loneliness, and as time goes on, things don’t change

what is the context of “The Farmer’s Bride” ?

marriages in the 19th century were organised for financial benefit

Mews was homosexual, and never married out of fear for passing mental illness to her children

written at a time, where there were issues with how men possessed women

how can “the farmer’s bride” be compared to “porphyria’s lover”?

similarities:
- both speakers are shown as being a possessive, objective male, Browning does this by assuming how Porphyria feels after he kills her “no pain felt she”, and Mews presents hi wife as a small animal “like a hare”, “like a mouse”, and “shy as a leveret”, speaker is a farmer and takes advantage of animals to make a living, so this implies he may be abusing his wife.
- both have destructive love, in PL, this is shown through her physical destruction and in TFB, this is shown through wife’s mental destruction as she is “alone, poor maid”
- both long, showing their obsessive tendencies

differences:
farmers bride speaker is aware of suffering he is inflicting more than speaker in PL