7.1.3

Key Quotes & Comparisons

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Key Quotes in The Farmer's Bride

Here are some examples of key quotes from The Farmer's Bride:

<b>‘Her smile went out...'

‘Her smile went out...'

  • ‘Her smile went out, and ‘twasn’t a woman – more like a little frightened fay’.
    • Mew uses dialect (words or phrases specific to a local area) to help characterise the farmer and make him seem more real.
<b>‘Shy as a leveret...'

‘Shy as a leveret...'

  • ‘Shy as a leveret, swift as he, / Straight and slight as a young larch tree’.
    • This pair of similes shows the narrator's characterisation of his young bride.
    • The comparison to a leveret (hare) and a young tree suggest that she is almost not human.
Never __‘heard her speak at all’__

Never ‘heard her speak at all’

  • The narrator laments that he never ‘heard her speak at all’.
  • This shows the farmer's frustration at the silence of his wife.
  • The poem's form (dramatic monologue) emphasises her silence.

Key Comparisons: The Farmer's Bride

Here are some suggestions for poems you could compare The Farmer's Bride to. Remember, there are endless options!

_Porphyria's Lover_

Porphyria's Lover

  • Both feature a male narrator delivering a monologue about a silenced woman.
  • You could contrast how Mew’s narrator deals with his feelings.
    • Mew's narrator is repressed and filled with longing.
    • Browning’s narrator chooses to take control and murder her.
_When We Two Parted_/_Neutral Tones_

When We Two Parted/Neutral Tones

  • You could compare themes of longing, loss and natural imagery.
Jump to other topics
1

When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)

2

Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley

3

Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

4

Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

4.1

Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis

5

Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

6

Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)

7

The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)

8

Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)

9

Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)

10

Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

11

‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born 1963

12

Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)

13

Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)

14

Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)

15

Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse

16

Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1

Grade 9 - Comparisons

17

Recap: Main Quotes

Practice questions on Key Quotes & Comparisons

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