The Farmer’s Bride

What happens?

A farmer describes his young wife’s withdrawal while revealing his own frustration.

Big idea

The farmer’s account exposes how sympathy can coexist with a failure to respect another person’s freedom.

“Three Summers since I chose a maid,”

Agency — The opening centres the farmer’s decision, not a mutual agreement.

“We chased her, flying like a hare”

Simile — The pursuit makes the bride seem hunted.

“And turned the key upon her, fast.”

Action — The practical detail exposes confinement beneath claims of concern.

“her eyes, her hair, her hair!”

Repetition — The fractured ending reveals intensifying fixation rather than understanding.

Form

A dramatic monologue in six unequal stanzas; rural speech and shifting line lengths develop an uneasy personal voice.

Context

Mew gives the husband the speaking role while making the young bride’s fear visible through the limitations of his account.

Compare

Porphyria’s Lover: possessive narrators. Follower: a contrasting rural relationship.

Voice, tone and feelings

Marriage and flight · Baffled — The farmer recalls the bride’s fear while presenting the marriage as his own choice.

Capture and domestic life · Uneasily descriptive — Images of vulnerable animals reveal a woman who seeks safety away from men.

Attic and final outburst · Frustrated and desirous — The speaker’s attention narrows to her body, leaving the threat unresolved.

Recall

What can the reader infer beyond the farmer’s explanation?

Read the full poem in your own AQA anthology. Anthology information and source.