Themes
English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Love & Relationships, topic 7.1.2
Natural Imagery in The Farmer's Bride
The farmer uses natural language throughout - which is perhaps unsurprising given his occupation. Here are some examples of this effects this has:
The farmer
- Mew seems to use natural imagery to create the character of the farmer.
- It seems he can only communicate his emotions and desires through the language of animals and natural imagery.
- Even in the final stanza, he uses ‘down’ to refer to his bride's hair, which is usually used to refer to animal fur.
The young girl
- Mew uses comparisons of a leveret (young hare), a young tree and violets to describe the young girl.
- There is a clear sense that she seems almost not human.
- ‘Shy as a leveret, swift as he, / Straight and slight as a young larch tree’.
- She is also presented as unusual – the rest of the village women speak about her and it seems clear she is much more comfortable around animals than she is around men.
The Farmer's Voice
The Farmer's Bride is a dramatic monologue, so we only hear the farmer's voice. Here are some examples of how Mew develops his voice:
Dialect
- Mew uses dialect (words or phrases specific to a local area) to create a sense of the farmer’s voice
- For example: ‘Her smile went out, and ‘twasn’t a woman – more like a little frightened fay’.
- The use of words such as 'fay' (fairy) gives us a strong sense of the farmer's accent and makes him seem more real.
- So does the omission (missing out) of vowels (such as 'twasn't).
Juxtaposition
- The level of characterisation given to him is juxtaposed with (placed together for emphasis) the young girl’s silence – we never know her.
- Everything we know about her we are told by him - he has power over her through his voice.
Test yourself on Themes
What does 'down' normally refer to, despite the farmer using it to refer to his wife's hair in The Farmer's Bride?
What does the word 'fay' mean?
Complete the quotes
What about the form of The Farmer's Bride makes him the only voice in the poem?