Compare and contrast the two poems "Cousin Kate" by Christina Rossetti and "The Seduction" by Eileen McAuley

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Compare and contrast the two poems "Cousin Kate" by Christina Rossetti and "The Seduction" by Eileen McAuley

"The Seduction" and "Cousin Kate" were written a century apart, but both explore the theme of false love. "Cousin Kate" is about a cottage maiden who is 'lured' by the great lord and falls pregnant. She loves the lord, but he does not love her. In "The Seduction", a teenage girl attends a party, gets very drunk and believes she is in love with the male in this poem, but it is really the influence of the alcohol making her think this.

"Cousin Kate" was set in the nineteenth century and "The Seduction" was set in the twentieth; the difference in time is made clear in each poem. Firstly with the language used; "Cousin Kate" was written in correct, formal English, and "The Seduction" was written in everyday language. During the nineteenth century, becoming pregnant before marriage would have been frowned upon because it would have been thought that the woman should provide a family and be a mother, whilst the male went out to work to earn a living. While in the twentieth century, it was more common to become