cousin Kate and the Secuction coursework

The first 200 words of this essay...

Compare and contrast "Cousin Kate" By Christina Rossetti and "The Seduction" By Eileen McCauley paying close attention to the presentation of men and the Treatment of women.

"And he muttered little Slag" "The Seduction"

We have been analysing two very interesting poems, "The Seduction" by Eileen McCauley and "Cousin Kate" by Christina Rossetti.

"The Seduction" was written in the1980s and "Cousin Kate" in the 1860s. Both poems deal with the issue of teenage and illegitimate pregnancy. They are different in that "The Seduction" was written in a more recent time, and set in "Merseyside" where there was a high teenage pregnancy rate at the time. This poem talks about a girl who had been to a party and met a boy who had 'quite enchanted' her. He gets her drunk, takes her down to the docks, and takes her virginity. The girl discovers she is "three months gone" and thinks her life is ruined.

"Cousin Kate" is also about a young girl losing her virginity out of wedlock, but this poem was set in the country in the 1860s, where getting pregnant out of wedlock was unacceptable in society and highly frowned upon.