A comparison of The Seduction written by Eileen McAuley and Cousin Kate written by Christina Rossetti.

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A comparison of “The Seduction”  written by Eileen McAuley and “Cousin Kate” written by Christina Rossetti.

By Verity Treverton-Jones 11E

I will be analyzing the two poems, "Cousin Kate," by Christina Rossetti, and, "The Seduction," by Eileen McAuley. Both of these poems share the same theme. The two poems are both based on betrayed love but they each deal with a different aspect.

"Cousin Kate," is set in the eighteenth century but was written in the nineteenth century. It was set in Victorian eras which in those days’ high moral values were a tradition to society. "Cousin Kate" deals with social standings. People are still judged by class now although it was much more important in the eighteenth century. In the eighteenth century sex before marriage was greatly looked down upon, it was a sin of the bible. It was always a lot easier for women in those days to get caught with having sex before marriage; this is because they obviously get pregnant.

It is the tale of a poor "cottage maiden" who gets found out by a wealthy lord, who has loads of power over people, I feel I know this because towards the end of the poem it says “coronet” which symbolizes power. She then falls in love with him from all the wooing and love he gave then he left, and she has his child, before being dropped the lord moves onto "Cousin Kate." who seems like she is more of upper class than the maid is. The poem is set out as the maiden telling us the story of how she was used and how he exchanged her for another woman. A good line that describes the story this is, "…He wore me like a silken knot, he changed me like a glove." This tells us that he felt he could use her like an item of clothing and discard her when he wished due to his wealthy position in life. It could be said that the lord ruined the maiden by taking her virginity, I feel this because the line

“I was a cottage maiden” implies to me that she was a maiden but he this lord has taken that away, being her virginity, and the poet tries to get this across in the line, "…so now I moan, an unclean thing, who might have been a dove”.

“The Seduction” is written by Eileen McAuley, it was writ in the twentieth century around 1980’s. In those years the ruling minister was Margaret Thatcher, this women had very conventional high values in home and in society. At the time of her reign she tried to return society back to a Victorian setting of family values, and so that humanity would not be as judgmental as it is today.

"The Seduction," is also a poem about a male taking advantage of a girl although this is a boy not a man, but it is very different. Whereas in "Cousin Kate" he attracts her by his wealth and treating her well, this is not the case in "The Seduction." As the title suggests the poem is about a seduction but not in the normal manner you'd expect. There is no romance or romantic settings. In fact, the poet almost tries to make it feel dirty with such lines as, "…Towards the frightening scum on the water." Also the poet tries to give the effect of the boy being a rough, unfriendly character. The poet does this in several ways. She describes him, "…leather jacket creaking madly…" and, "…he spat in to the river…" Also he calls her, "little slag," which does not give you a good impression of this character. The narrative is speaking in third person whereas “Cousin Kate” is told as if in first person narrative.

In both poems the girl has either had a child or is pregnant this is one of the similarities, but the feelings about it are different in both. In "Cousin Kate," the child is her 'shame' and her 'pride'. The poet, Rossetti, cleverly uses opposites to describe the feelings towards the child. He is her 'shame' as it is an everlasting reminder of what she has done, but it is also her 'pride' as she loves him very much. In "The Seduction," McAuley describes the feelings towards the unborn child very differently. She says, "…Better to destroy your life in modern man-made ways than to fall into this despicable, feminine void…" This lets us know that she views having this baby as her life being ruined. This line sums up exactly how little she wants her child.

The language in “Cousin Kate” is old style, it is understandable so is “the Seduction” apart from it is written by a teenager in modern language.

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'Cousin Kate' is set in the countryside. The cottage maiden says "I was a cottage maiden, hardened by sun and air". This tells me that she was used to being outside and wasn't protected. The poem also says that the lord watched Kate at work. It says "he watched your steps along the lane, your work among the rye." This tells me that both the maid and Kate were farm workers and so, not very well off.

 The poem creates an idea of the maids' feelings in 'Cousin Kate'. The maid says "contented with my cottage mates" this ...

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