"Make a Detailed Comparison of Two Poems About Betrayed in Love"
I have been analysing 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. It is the tale of a poor "cottage maiden" who gets found out by a wealthy lord. She then falls in love with him and has his child before being dropped as the lord moves onto "Cousin Kate." 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 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.
"The Seduction," is also a poem about a man taking advantage of a girl 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 for a seduction. 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 man being a rough, unfriendly character. The poet does this in several ways. She describes him, "...leather jacket creaking madly..." and, "...he spat into the river..." Also he calls her, "little slag," which does not give you a good impression of this character.
I have been analysing 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. It is the tale of a poor "cottage maiden" who gets found out by a wealthy lord. She then falls in love with him and has his child before being dropped as the lord moves onto "Cousin Kate." 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 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.
"The Seduction," is also a poem about a man taking advantage of a girl 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 for a seduction. 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 man being a rough, unfriendly character. The poet does this in several ways. She describes him, "...leather jacket creaking madly..." and, "...he spat into the river..." Also he calls her, "little slag," which does not give you a good impression of this character.
