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Characters · 4
The Animals (symbolic presences)
In Charlotte Mew's poem The Farmer's Bride, the animals act not as individual characters but as a collective symbol threaded throughout the story.
character
The Farmer
The Farmer serves as the unnamed narrator and central figure in Charlotte Mew's dramatic monologue, "The Farmer's Bride."
character
The Farmer's Bride
The Farmer's Bride is the unnamed central figure in Charlotte Mew's dramatic monologue poem of the same name, presented entirely through her husband's perspective — a choice that highlights her lack of voice and objectification.
character
The Neighbours
In Charlotte Mew's narrative poem The Farmer's Bride, the Neighbours act more as a nameless social force than as individual characters.
character
Key quotes · 9
“Three Summers since I chose a maid, / Too young maybe—but more's to do / At harvest-time than bide and woo.”
This opening stanza is delivered by the unnamed farmer-narrator in Charlotte Mew's dramatic monologue The Farmer's Bride (1912; collected 1916).
The Farmer (unnamed narrator) · Stanza 1
“Out of a sudden fear / Chose her, when scarce had been a year / Since we were wed.”
This opening passage is from Charlotte Mew's poem "The Farmer's Bride" (1912, included in The Farmer's Bride, 1916).
The Farmer (narrator) · Stanza 1
“She runned away. Oh! what a night!”
This exclamatory line is spoken by the unnamed farmer-narrator in Charlotte Mew's poem The Farmer's Bride (1912), which appears in her 1916 collection of the same name.
The Farmer (narrator)
“Like the shut of a winter's day / Her smile went out, and 'twasn't a woman— / More like a little frightened fay.”
These lines are delivered by the unnamed farmer-narrator in Charlotte Mew's dramatic monologue "The Farmer's Bride" (1912, included in The Farmer's Bride, 1916).
The farmer (unnamed narrator)
“We caught her, fetched her home at last / And turned the key upon her, fast.”
These lines are delivered by the unnamed farmer-narrator in Charlotte Mew's dramatic monologue poem The Farmer's Bride (1912; collected 1916).
The farmer (unnamed narrator) · Stanza 3
“Not near, not near! her eyes beseech / When one of us comes within reach.”
These lines are from Charlotte Mew's poem "The Farmer's Bride" (1912, published in 1916), voiced by the unnamed farmer-narrator who recounts his young wife's fear of human interaction.
The farmer-narrator
“She does the work about the house / As well as most, but like a mouse.”
These lines are from Charlotte Mew's poem "The Farmer's Bride" (1912), spoken by the farmer as he describes his young wife's behavior following their troubled marriage.
The Farmer (narrator)
“Oh! my God! the down, / The soft young down of her, the brown, / The brown of her—her eyes, her hair, her hair!”
This anguished cry wraps up Charlotte Mew's poem "The Farmer's Bride" (1912; collected 1916), voiced by the farmer-narrator as he lies awake, tormented by his desire for his young, estranged wife.
The Farmer (narrator)
“Lying awake in the dark alone— / All in the dark we lie behind the wall.”
These lines come from Charlotte Mew's poem "The Farmer's Bride" (1912, collected 1916), spoken by the farmer-narrator as he lies awake at night, consumed by longing and the distance from his young wife.
The Farmer (narrator)
Symbols · 4
Fur and Brown Hair
In Charlotte Mew's The Farmer's Bride, the young bride's fur-like softness and brown hair highlight her wild, instinctive nature and the deep divide between her and her husband.
Nature and the Seasons
In Charlotte Mew's The Farmer's Bride, nature and the changing seasons reflect the bride's wild, untamed spirit and the emotional distance that defines her marriage.
The Bride as Wild Animal
In Charlotte Mew's poem The Farmer's Bride, the young bride is repeatedly depicted as a wild, untameable animal, representing the harsh suppression of female autonomy in rural patriarchal marriage.
The Locked Stair
In Charlotte Mew's poem The Farmer's Bride, the locked stair represents the harsh reality of forced confinement and the violent suppression of a woman's independence.
Literary devices · 12
Dramatic Monologue
The poem is presented entirely in the farmer's own words, without any commentary from the author, yet Mew creates a disconnect between his statements and the reader's interpretation.
Imagery
Mew shapes the bride's character almost entirely through animal and natural imagery, as she doesn't have a voice of her own.
Simile
Simile dominates the poem, transforming the bride into a wild creature instead of portraying her as a person.
Symbolism
The locked door of the attic where the bride is kept becomes the main symbol of the marriage: a relationship based on confinement instead of consent.
Personification
Mew briefly yet powerfully depicts the natural world as a place that acknowledges and embraces the bride in ways that her human surroundings do not.
Irony
The poem's deepest irony is in how the farmer presents himself as a reasonable man.
Refrain
The phrase "her hair, her hair!" at the end acts as a delayed refrain — a burst of emotion that the farmer has held back during his measured storytelling.
Free Verse
Though the poem employs rhyme, its line lengths are notably irregular, creating a feel of spoken thought instead of a formal song.
Pathetic Fallacy
The seasonal backdrop of the poem serves a deeper purpose than mere decoration.
Volta
A clear volta appears in the final stanza, where the farmer's controlled, reflective narration shatters into raw, fragmented longing: 'Oh! my God! the down, / The soft young down of her, the brown, / The brown of her — her eyes, her hair, her hair!'
Alliteration
Mew employs alliteration to weave natural imagery into a sort of spell.
Enjambment
Enjambment appears throughout the poem in a selective yet significant way.