Charlotte Mew

Contrast that with the presentation of desire and longing in poems like When We Two Parted by Lord Byron.

here the tone is completely different cold bitter full of shame and secrecy byron uses the sibilance of silence and tears to create a hissing sorrowful sound that mirrors the speaker's quiet grief the poem's regular a b rhyme scheme gives it a controlled almost suppressed quality as if the speaker is holding their emotions in check which makes the pain feel even more powerful the second major theme is power and control in relationships charlotte mew's the farmer's bride is a fascinating poem to analyze here the farmer speaks about his young wife as if she were a wild animal to be caught and tamed we caught her fetched her home at last the use of collective pronouns like we strips the woman of her individuality and agency The poem is deeply uncomfortable to read, and that discomfort is entirely intentional.

Mew was writing in the early 20th century, and the poem reflects the social reality of women being treated as property within marriage.

This is where your contextual knowledge earns you marks.

Always write at least one paragraph on structure.

For the exam itself, if you're writing a comparison question, SingSong pairs brilliantly with The Farmer's Bride by Charlotte Mew.

Both feature a male speaker describing his wife, but the tone and relationship are completely different.

It also pairs well with Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy.