The Farmer's Bride: Page 2 Analysis

The second page of the GCSE poetry anthology interpretation of "The Farmer's Bride" delves deeper into the characterization of the bride and the farmer's conflicted feelings towards her. The bride is repeatedly compared to animals and elements of nature, emphasizing her connection to the natural world and her distance from human society.

A series of similes paint a vivid picture of the bride's character: "Shy as a leveret, swift as he, / Straight and slight as a young larch tree, / Sweet as the first wild violets." These comparisons to young animals and delicate plants underscore her youth, fragility, and wild nature. The phrase "To her wild self. But what to me?" highlights the fundamental disconnect between the bride's true nature and the farmer's desires.

The poem then shifts to describe the changing seasons, creating a melancholic atmosphere that mirrors the farmer's loneliness and frustration. The imagery of shortening days, brown oaks, and the approach of Christmas emphasizes the passage of time and the continued isolation within the household.

Quote: "What's Christmas-time without there be / Some other in the house than we!"

This exclamation reveals the farmer's deep longing for companionship and his resentment of the current situation. The description of the bride sleeping alone in the attic, separated from the farmer by just a staircase, creates a palpable sense of tension and unfulfilled desire.

Highlight: The repeated use of "the down, / The soft young down of her, the brown, / The brown of her - her eyes, her hair, her hair!" demonstrates the farmer's obsessive focus on the bride's physical attributes, objectifying her and reducing her to her appearance.

This page of the poem builds on the themes in The Farmer's Bride by Charlotte Mew, particularly the conflict between human desires and the natural world, as well as the objectification and isolation of the young bride.

Walking Away: Page 3 Analysis

The third page of the transcript shifts to a different poem, "Walking Away" by Cecil Day-Lewis, which explores themes of parental love, loss, and the process of letting go. This poem provides an interesting contrast to "The Farmer's Bride" while still dealing with themes of separation and emotional struggle.

The speaker in "Walking Away" is a father recalling a significant moment from eighteen years ago when he watched his young son play his first game of football. The vivid imagery of the "sunny day with leaves just turning" and "touch-lines new-ruled" creates a precise snapshot of this memory, emphasizing its lasting impact on the father.

Highlight: The use of cosmic imagery in the simile "like a satellite / Wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away" powerfully conveys the sense of separation and loss of control the father feels as his son begins to gain independence.

The poem employs several similes to describe the son's departure, each emphasizing his vulnerability and the father's anxiety. The son is compared to "a half-fledged thing set free / Into a wilderness" and "a winged seed loosened from its parent stem," highlighting the natural yet potentially dangerous process of growing up and leaving the safety of parental care.

Vocabulary: Eddying - moving in a circular motion, used here to describe the son's uncertain movements away from the father.

The final stanza reflects on the lasting impact of this memory, with the speaker admitting that this parting "Gnaws at my mind still." The poem concludes with a powerful statement about the nature of love and individuality:

Quote: "How selfhood begins with a walking away, / And love is proved in the letting go."

This ending encapsulates the central theme of the poem: that true parental love involves accepting and supporting a child's journey towards independence, even when it causes pain and anxiety for the parent.

The Farmer's Bride: Page 1 Analysis

The opening stanza of "The Farmer's Bride" by Charlotte Mew introduces the central conflict of the poem through the farmer's perspective. The speaker, a farmer, recounts choosing a young bride three summers ago, acknowledging she may have been too young but justifying his haste due to the demands of harvest time. This sets up the power imbalance and lack of courtship that characterizes their relationship.

The bride's fear and withdrawal are vividly depicted through similes and imagery. Her smile disappearing is compared to "the shut of a winter's day," emphasizing the coldness and darkness that has come over her. The description of her as "a little frightened fay" rather than a woman dehumanizes her, highlighting her otherworldly nature and disconnect from human society.

The dramatic event of the bride running away "in the Fall" is recounted, with the farmer and other men chasing her "like a hare / Before our lanterns." This hunting imagery reinforces the bride's vulnerable position and her desperate attempt to escape.

Highlight: The use of non-standard English and rural dialect (e.g. "runned away," "'Out 'mong the sheep, her be'") creates an authentic voice for the farmer narrator and grounds the poem in its rustic setting.

Vocabulary: Fay - an archaic term for fairy, emphasizing the bride's otherworldly and elusive nature.

The stanza ends with the disturbing image of the bride being caught, brought home, and locked up "fast," treating her more like a captured animal than a human being. This confinement sets the stage for the rest of the poem's exploration of her isolation and the farmer's frustrated desire.