Starter quiz
- Which of the below are reasonable synonyms of the word 'dysfunctional'?
- defective ✓
- broken ✓
- flawed ✓
- unique
- despised
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- 'The Farmer's Bride' is a 20th century poem. Which year below must it have been written in?
- 1916 ✓
- 1816
- 1716
- 2016
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- Who wrote 'The Farmer's Bride'?
- Charlotte Mew ✓
- Emily Brontë
- Jane Austen
- Mary Shelley
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- The poem 'The Farmer's Bride' is a dramatic monologue written from the perspective of ...
- the farmer. ✓
- the bride.
- both the farmer and the bride.
- neither. It is written in third person limited.
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- Throughout the poem 'The Farmer's Bride', Mew uses similes to compare the bride to several things in nature. Which of the below form part of those similes?
- mouse ✓
- hare ✓
- sheep
- rabbit
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- Starting with the first, put these events from 'The Farmer's Bride' in chronological order.
- 1⇔The farmer relates how three years ago he married a bride that was too young.
- 2⇔Once married she becomes fearful of her husband and eventually runs away.
- 3⇔The farmer and others go after her and eventually 'catch' her.
- 4⇔She is brought back to the farm and locked away.
- 5⇔She spends her time at home doing housework.
- 6⇔The farmer complains of the relationship and laments the distance between them.
Exit quiz
- In 'The Farmer's Bride', the farmer treats his bride as a child and in a way that denies her maturity. As such he __________ her.
- infantilises ✓
- submits
- dysfunctions
- banishes
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- In the poem 'The Farmer's Bride', arguably the farmer 'others' his wife. What does this mean?
- he ignores her
- he treats her as alien to himself ✓
- he mistreats her
- he confuses her with someone else
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- In 'The Farmer's Bride', the bride is often described using similes. Complete them below.
- "like a⇔mouse" ✓
- "flying like a⇔hare" ✓
- "shy as a⇔leveret" ✓
- "as a young⇔larch tree" ✓
- "like a frightened little⇔fay" ✓
- In 'The Farmer's Bride', Mew often compares the bride to elements of nature using similes. Why?
- to highlight her fragility, otherworldliness, and wildness ✓
- the poem is set in the countryside - it is to be expected
- it is a romantic poem written before industrialistion
- to contrast with the stronger similes used to describe the farmer
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- Throughout the poem 'The Farmer's Bride', Mew uses a semantic field of ...
- nature. ✓
- love.
- power.
- weather.
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- Which of these statements about the marriage in 'The Farmer's Bride' are correct?
- Despite the age gap there is respect between them.
- The bride feels fear towards her husband. ✓
- The husband infantilises and others his wife. ✓
- The bride is forced into submission. ✓
- Although initially unhappy, they eventually reconcile.
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Worksheet
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Mew uses a simile to convey the fear the wife feels towards her husband.
- Mew uses a semantic field of natural imagery to reveal how the husband infantilises and others his wife.
- Mew uses a collective pronoun to show how the wife is forced into submission.
- Mew uses natural imagery to convey the wife's growing emotional distance.
- Mew uses exclamation in the resolution to suggest the husband continues to fantasise about his wife.
Common misconception
Analysis should focus on the bride.
Although there is lots to say about the bride - and her treatment in the relationship - the farmer also presents a rich source of analysis through his often contradictory actions throughout the poem (explored in the written task in Learning Cycle 2).
Keywords
Dysfunctional - not operating properly; broken
To (other) - to treat someone as alien to one's self or one’s group
Infantilise - to treat someone as a child or in a way that denies their maturity
Semantic field - a group of words related in some way- they can be related by meaning or in a more abstract way
Submission - the act of allowing someone or something to have power over you
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