In this essay, I will be comparing the poems 'Cousin Kate' by Christina Rossetti and 'The Seduction' by Eileen McAuley and also asking the question, "How do the two main female protagonists of the poem feel betrayed?"

The first 200 words of this essay...

Cousin Kate and The Seduction

In this essay, I will be comparing the poems 'Cousin Kate' by Christina Rossetti and 'The Seduction' by Eileen McAuley and also asking the question, "How do the two main female protagonists of the poem feel betrayed?" 'The Seduction', was written as part of a competition and was based on a water theme. Eileen McAuley's poem starts down on the banks of the River Mersey, with a young boy and girl. They have met at a party the night before and the girl becomes so enchanted by him that she agrees to follow him down to the Birkenhead docks. They then proceed to have sex and the poem ends with the young girl becoming pregnant and inevitably questioning and regretting her actions. Christina Rossetti's poem begins with the narrator describing herself and introducing a "great lord". She then talks of how he "lured" her to his palace home and took away her virginity only to discard her "like a glove", once he had what he wanted. The poem then goes on to tell how the lord fell in love with the narrators Cousin Kate and in turn married her. The narrator then goes