The Farmer’s Bride (AQA GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem - printed in full - and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:
The meaning of the poem
The ideas and messages of the poet
How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology
Below is a guide to Charlotte Mew’s The Farmer’s Bride, from the Love and Relationships anthology. It includes:
Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam
Overview
In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:
The poem in a nutshell
A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Charlotte Mew’s intention and message
The Farmer’s Bride in a nutshell
The Farmer’s Bride, written by the Victorian poet Charlotte Mew, presents a dysfunctional marriage between an uncommunicative farmer and his frightened bride. The poem comments on possessive and imbalanced romantic relationships which lead to aggression and isolation, and, thus, question gender roles and societal norms regarding marriage.
The Farmer’s Bride overview
Lines 1-3
“Three summers since I chose a maid,
Too young maybe—but more’s to do
At harvest-time than bide and woo.”
Translation
The poem’s speaker informs the reader he has been married for three years
He implies his bride was not ready for marriage, but that he did not have time to waste picking a more suitable bride
Mew’s intention
Mew’s speaker adopts a matter-of-fact tone to describe his marriage
He suggests his work as a farmer is more important than his bride or their relationship
Here, Mew, illustrates how the relationship is not based on love; the bride is there to serve a function
Mew foreshadows its doomed fate by suggesting the relationship is imbalanced and forced
Lines 4-5
“When us was wed she turned afraid
Of love and me and all things human;”
Translation
The speaker tells readers of the bride’s extreme reaction to the marriage
Mew presents a young woman so petrified by the marriage that she turns away from love and other people, as well as her new husband
Mew’s intention
Mew shows the farmer aware of her fear, and so he is complicit in her anxiety and isolation
The readers learn how that the young bride seems traumatised by the relationship
Thus, Mew questions Victorian values regarding marriage and gender roles
Lines 6-8
“Like the shut of a winter’s day
Her smile went out, and ’twadn’t a woman—
More like a little frightened fay.”
Translation
The speaker compares his bride’s reaction to nature
Her sadness began immediately and abruptly
She is like a frightened and vulnerable deer
Mew’s Intention
These lines show the farmer’s deep reflections on his bride’s emotions
He seems aware of her fear, yet reluctant or unable to act upon it
Mew’s farmer speaks in a colloquial dialect, suggesting perhaps his simple nature and a lack of social sophistication
Line 9
“One night, in the Fall, she runned away.”
Translation
Here, the farmer explains his bride tried to leave under cover of darkness
He reveals her sense of being trapped
Mew’s intention
Mew shows the desperation of the young bride
She challenges societal expectations regarding young marriage and marriages created out of contractual obligation
Lines 10-13
“Out ’mong the sheep, her be,” they said,
’Should properly have been abed;
But sure enough she wadn’t there
Lying awake with her wide brown stare.”
Translation
The dialogue represents the people of the village who help the farmer find her
The farmer imagines her laying in the barn with a blank expression on her face, but she is not there
Mew’s intention
Here, Mew shows the villagers as complicit in the bride’s fate
She challenges societal values by asking readers to consider their part in a young bride’s desperation
Mew’s farmer implies he is familiar with his bride’s “wide brown stare” suggesting, again, he is aware of her trauma
Lines 14-16
“So over seven-acre field and up-along across the down
We chased her, flying like a hare
Before our lanterns. To Church-Town”
Translation
The speaker narrates the search for his bride; the village helps track her as she flees
Here, Mew shows the fear of the young bride, powerless against a number of villagers in the darkness
Mew’s intention
Mew presents the power imbalance in the relationship by presenting the young girl running from a group: she is vulnerable and alone
Mew challenges readers with this vivid and shocking description
Lines 17-19
“All in a shiver and a scare
We caught her, fetched her home at last
And turned the key upon her, fast.”
Translation
The speaker describes how the villagers caught her and locked her up
Mew’s intention
Mew’s poem takes a sinister tone as readers see the violent action of the villager and the farmer toward the frightened girl
He seems relieved to have her home and less concerned with the assault on her or her own wishes
Mew questions societal values regarding gender roles and marital codes of conduct: the farmer narrates this aggression as if it is normal
Lines 20-26
“She does the work about the house
As well as most, but like a mouse:
Happy enough to chat and play
With birds and rabbits and such as they,
So long as men-folk keep away.
“Not near, not near!” her eyes beseech
When one of us comes within reach.”
Translation
The farmer explains that since that night, his bride has surrendered to him a little
She fulfils her domestic role but is still not happy
He explains she is scared of men and has isolated herself with only small animals for company
Mew’s intention
Here, Mew presents an uncompassionate farmer with little love for his bride
He appears pleased she completes the housework but is not happy with her lack of communication or fear of men
Again, the farmer seems unaware of his part in this
Lines 27-33
“The women say that beasts in stall
Look round like children at her call.
I’ve hardly heard her speak at all.
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?”
Translation
The farmer has been told that the animals have a close relationship with his bride, and he questions her commitment to him
He believes her wild nature is the reason for the lack of love in their marriage
Mew’s intention
Here, Mew presents the bride as capable of love and having a relationship, yet choosing animals instead of men: this shows her extreme fear and isolation
Mew presents the farmer as unable to understand her reactions
He blames her untameable nature, while the obvious reason seems to elude him
Thus, Mew challenges gender roles by presenting imbalanced, forced relationships as frustrating for both individuals
Lines 34-41
“The short days shorten and the oaks are brown,
The blue smoke rises to the low grey sky,
One leaf in the still air falls slowly down,
A magpie’s spotted feathers lie
On the black earth spread white with rime,
The berries redden up to Christmas-time.
What’s Christmas-time without there be
Some other in the house than we!”
Translation
The speaker describes the passing of time
The farmer’s frustration grows as they have still not had a child
Mew’s intention
Here, the farmer’s vivid descriptions of the changing seasons contrasts the lack of change in their relationship
Mew presents the marriage as functional as the farmer is frustrated they have not had a child: he implies the lack of physical contact between them
Lines 42-44
“She sleeps up in the attic there
Alone, poor maid. ’Tis but a stair
Betwixt us. Oh! my God! the down,”
Translation
The farmer ends explaining that they are still apart
He believes her to be lonely
He thinks it is only a stair which separates them
Mew’s intention
Here, Mew shows a frustrated farmer, incapable of empathy
His belief that the distance between them is simply a staircase shows him unable to understand his bride
His despondent tone suggests Mew presents him as as incapable of communicating with his bride, which leads to his frustration
Lines 45-46
“The soft young down of her, the brown,
The brown of her—her eyes, her hair, her hair!”
Translation
The poem ends on an emotional exclamation
The farmer shows his strong desire to be near her
Mew’s intention
The poem ends unresolved; the farmer is left thinking of his bride and the distance between them
Mew shows the frustration of the farmer through his unstable voice
Mew’s ending suggests the relationship remains stuck, with both the farmer and his bride unable to resolve their pain
Writer’s Methods
Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have.
Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Charlotte Mew’s intentions behind her choices in terms of:
Form
Charlotte Mew’s poem presents a husband and simple farmer who expresses and explores his feelings of frustration within his marriage. The Farmer’s Bride is a long monologue which represents the slow passing of time and the lack of development in their relationship.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Complex relationships | The first-person speaker delivers a dramatic monologue about his bride | The male speaker is given a voice so that his perspective is shown throughout the poem and the reader is allowed to judge his thoughts and actions |
The poem’s length contributes to the farmer’s sense of frustration, which inevitably leads to an unresolved ending | Their complex and stifled relationship is depicted through the narration of passing time, but Mew ends the poem with the distance between them remaining
| |
Charlotte Mew presents complex and imbalanced romantic relationships by presenting the perspective of a male speaker, stuck and unable to communicate with his bride, and thus unable to resolve their mutual pain | ||
Structure
The poem presents the farmer’s confusion and frustration through changes in tone as he narrates his thoughts and experiences. The speaker’s despondence is presented through the gradual decline of their marriage and his growing frustration.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Possessive Desire | The poem mostly follows iambic tetrameter which creates a lively and conversational tone despite the terrible circumstances of his relationship
| Charlotte Mew presents the farmer sounding casual as he narrates a sinister tale of chasing his bride and locking her up: this comments on social norms by presenting his abuse of power as normal |
The poet uses enjambment and caesurae with irregular rhyming lines as the poem progresses, showing the growing frustration with his uneven tone: “Alone, poor maid. ’Tis but a stair/Betwixt us. Oh! my God! the down,” | The speaker’s tone is emotional at times as he tries to control his frustrated desire: Mew presents a sympathetic speaker to show both perspectives in the marriage | |
The speaker expresses his dismay at his bride’s lack of commitment to him:
| Mew comments on frustrated desire through the confused voice of the farmer: in this way she represents a lack of communication in the relationship as the barrier | |
Charlotte Mew challenges Victorian ideas of marriage and gender roles in the poem which presents the perspective of an insensitive farmer abusing his power and frustrated with desire as a result of his actions | ||
Language
Charlotte Mew uses natural imagery to represent the relationship between the farmer and his bride as isolating and imbalanced. The descriptive language evokes vivid comparisons which symbolises violence and fear within the marriage.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Abuse of power | The poet highlights the abrupt change in the bride after the marriage by using alliteration: “When we was wed”, “winters day” and “wadn’t a woman” | The dull sounding tone of the alliteration when the farmer speaks, as well as the colloquial dialect, presents him as insensitive and simplistic |
The speaker compares his bride with small and vulnerable animals
| Here, the speaker uses simile and natural imagery to imply his wife is wild and difficult to tame, and he shows he is aware of her fear and vulnerability | |
The poem ends with the farmer’s clear desire for his young bride: “The soft young down of her, the brown,/The brown of her” | Despite the farmer’s acknowledgment that his bride was too young to wed, he ends the poem with repetition suggesting he desires her because of this | |
Charlotte Mew presents the bride’s extreme response to the marriage and violence with sibilance: “All in a shiver and a scare” | Mew’s young bride is presented as a victim, afraid and shocked, after villagers catch her and lock her up | |
Charlotte Mew challenges social norms with a poem which shows abuse within a forced marriage which is normalised by the farmer and the community, resulting in isolation for both the farmer and his bride | ||
Context
Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Charlotte Mew or the Victorian era which is unrelated to the ideas in The Farmer’s Bride. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Charlotte Mew in The Farmer’s Bride which relate to love and relationships. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Mew explores:
Complex romantic relationships
Charlotte Mew’s poem presents an imbalanced and complex relationship between a busy farmer and a young bride to question social norms regarding marriage
Their marriage is one of necessity and function
The bride is too young to marry
The bride is chosen, suggesting her lack of free choice
Mew comments on gender roles by showing a sympathetic farmer unable to communicate or understand the distance between the pair
The farmer’s confusion is explained by the complicity of the villagers who help him catch his bride when she runs away
Mew shows him as a product of his environment as he never questions his part in his bride’s depression and anxiety
Desire and longing
The Farmer’s Bride, by Victorian poet, Charlotte Mew, was written at a time when the issue of women’s suffrage was being debated, and in the context of a patriarchal, British society
Fathers and husbands had control over decisions regarding marriage
Mew’s poem challenges this as she presents the farmer’s oppressive control over his wife, with the community’s support
The poem comments on rigid gender roles by showing the bride’s predominantly domestic role in the relationship, and how this creates distance between them
Charlotte Mew believed that marriage could lead to mental illness
Mew depicts a fearful and traumatised bride, scared of her husband and men in the village, to show the impact of possessive relationships
What to Compare it to
The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about love or relationships, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that The Farmer’s Bride explores the ideas of complex relationships and frustrated desire, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:
For each pair of poems, you will find:
The comparison in a nutshell
Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences
The Farmer’s Bride and Porphyria’s Lover
Comparison in a nutshell:
Both Charlotte Mew’s The Farmer’s Bride and Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover convey a speaker’s possessive attitude toward romantic relationships by abusing their power over vulnerable females. The speaker’s frustrated desire results in violence and destruction.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems present controlling and possessive speakers | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Porphyria’s Lover |
Charlotte Mew’s farmer uses simile to compare his young bride to small, vulnerable animals
| Similarly, Browning’s speaker sees his lover, Porphyria, as small and vulnerable
| |
The speaker believes his bride is not committed to him in the way he expects
| Browning’s speaker also doubts Porphyria’s commitment: she is “too weak” from “pride” and “vainer ties” and will not reserve her love only for him | |
The farmer’s tone is matter-of-fact, and he seems to be aware of his own power as he chases after his escaped bride with the villagers: “We caught her, fetched her home at last/And turned the key upon her, fast.” | Browning’s speaker is in control of his emotions, suggesting his sense of his own power as he “debates what to do”
| |
Mew and Browning challenge gender roles and codes of conduct within romantic relationship by presenting male speakers who are possessive, yet unaware of their abuse of power | ||
Topic sentence | Both poets illustrate romantic relationships which are imbalanced and destructive | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Porphyria’s Lover |
The speaker’s frustrated desire is presented through the long narration of passing time, during which the farmer and his bride do not communicate
| Browning’s speaker, similarly, presents a silent detachment in his dramatic monologue of the night’s events, during which he does not communicate with his lover: when she calls him he does not reply | |
The speaker’s destructive actions result in isolation for both the farmer and his bride
| The speaker, here, acts destructively within his relationship too, as he strangles Porphyria and now has full control over her: “Her head, which droops” | |
Mew and Browning question uncommunicative relationships based on imbalanced power through their male speaker’s destructive actions on vulnerable females | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While Charlotte Mew’s poem ends unresolved with the farmer and his bride apart, Robert Browning’s poem depicts an intimate night which ends with a violent resolution | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Porphyria’s Lover |
The speaker’s frustration and longing for his bride is shown sympathetically at the end of the poem via emotional sensory language: “The brown of her—her eyes, her hair, her hair!” | In Porphyria’s Lover, the speaker describes his lover with sensory language too, but here he has killed her and is presented as cruel
| |
The isolation and distance in the relationship remains unresolved
| The closeness of Porphyria to the speaker does not seem to move him until he kills her and begins to show his pleasure at possessing her: “That moment she was mine, mine, fair,” | |
Both poets challenge oppressive and controlling relationships, however Mew presents continuing pain for both the farmer and the bride, while Browning presents a speaker pleased with his possession of his lover at the end, despite the fact she is now dead | ||
The Farmer’s Bride and Love’s Philosophy
Comparison in a nutshell:
This is an effective comparative choice to explore desire and longing within complex romantic relationships. Both Charlotte Mew’s The Farmer’s Bride and Shelley’s Love’s Philosophy present speakers who are frustrated as they are denied physical love which they believe they deserve.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems show longing as a result of denied physical love in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Love’s Philosophy |
Charlotte Mew’s first-person speaker is frustrated with his silent and unresponsive bride
| Similarly, Shelley’s first-person speaker directly addresses a silent lover in a persuasive and romantic plea
| |
The speaker presents his desire through sensory language: “Oh! my God! the down,/The soft young down of her,” | Shelley, too, shows the desire for physical love through emotional sensory language: “the sunlight clasps the earth/And the moonbeams kiss the sea” | |
The poets comment on the overwhelming power of denied physical love within romantic relationships by showing the desperation of the speakers’ voices | ||
Topic sentence | Both poems present male speakers whose language suggests they see physical love as natural and reasonable to expect within romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Love’s Philosophy |
Mew’s farmer is confused by the lack of intimacy in their marriage
| Shelley’s speaker, too, suggests it is natural and expected for them to come together in unity as part of his argument for intimacy: “All things by a law divine In one spirit meet and mingle.” | |
Mew’s speaker is left with unresolved feelings of desire at the end of the poem, illustrated with repetition to show his extreme emotions: “the brown/The brown of her—her eyes, her hair, her hair!” | Similarly, Shelley’s speaker is left waiting, and with unresolved feelings of desire at the end of the poem: “What is all this sweet work worth/If thou kiss not me? | |
Both poems comment on gender roles by showing male speakers who are certain physical love is the answer to the painful emotions of longing and desire, although neither speaker resolves their frustrations and are left confused | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While Charlotte Mew’s poem presents an imbalanced relationship between the farmer and his frightened bride, Shelley speaks about love as unifying to an unknown, prospective lover | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Love’s Philosophy |
Mew shows a possessive relationship and a farmer who is aware he is frightening his bride
| Shelley’s speaker, however, presents love as blissfully and spiritually unifying with personification
| |
The farmer speaks of his bride in third person, which presents the distance between them, and refers to her in a detached and colloquial manner: “and’twadn’t a woman—” | Shelley’s speaker uses elevated language in a more personal direct address to his lover to connote reverent love
| |
Both poems discuss romantic love, however Shelley’s poem presents love as pure and equally gratifying for both partners, whereas Mew’s poem depicts a possessive and detached marriage | ||
The Farmer’s Bride and Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’
Comparison in a nutshell:
Both Charlotte Mew’s The Farmer’s Bride and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ convey powerful feelings of desire within frustrated romantic relationships. However, Barrett Browning’s poem shows physical harmony as a resolution and Mew’s ends only with relentless, unresolved longing.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems highlight the confusing emotions of frustrated love in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ |
In Charlotte Mew’s dramatic monologue the speaker compares his bride to nature
| Similarly, the first-person speaker in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem illustrates her love with a simile describing nature as untamed: “—my thoughts do twine and bud/About thee, as wild vines, about a tree,” | |
The speakers evoke natural imagery to suggest love is uncontrollable | ||
Mew’s speaker’s frustration about his lover is expressed with caesurae and exclamation to present his longing: “Betwixt us. Oh! my God! the down,” | Similarly, Barrett Browning’s speaker expresses her frustration with emotional exclamations and caesurae: “I will not have my thoughts instead of thee/Who art dearer, better! Rather, instantly” | |
The poets both comment on the frustration of a thwarted desire to be close to their lover by creating speakers with unstable voices | ||
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poets present speakers with desire for physical love | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ |
Mew’s speaker’s frustration about his lover is expressed with sensory language: “The brown of her—her eyes, her hair, her hair!” | The first-person speaker uses sensory language in a similar way to suggest her lover’s physical presence will bring her relief
| |
The farmer is aware of the barrier of distance with his short statement: “Tis but a stair/Betwixt us.” | Similarly, Barrett Browning’s speaker expresses her desire to be close to her lover with statements about the distance between them: “I will not have my thoughts instead of thee.” | |
The poets both comment on the desire to be close to their distant lover, presenting their need for physical intimacy | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | Charlotte Mew’s poem depicts a speaker’s longing and desire within a disharmonious, forced relationship, while Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem presents a speaker longing to be with an absent lover within a harmonious relationship | |
Evidence and analysis | The Farmer’s Bride | Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ |
Mew’s speaker presents the distance between he and his lover in third-person
| However, Barrett Browning’s speaker directly addresses her absent lover, instructing him to be with her with imperative verbs: “Renew thy presence” | |
Mew’s poem presents the farmer’s continued longing as a result of their lack of communication and his violent actions toward her
| Barrett Browning’s speaker ends the poem with a sense of physical harmony: “I am too near thee.” | |
Both poems challenge gender roles, however Mew’s poem illustrates the painful distance within a forced relationship from the perspective of a male speaker, whereas Barrett Browning’s poem presents a female speaker happy and filled with desire | ||
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