Introduction
I will be comparing and contrasting themes of love and naivety, betrayal and different facets of love in the poem, society's reaction to unplanned pregnancy or
Relationships and sex outside of marriage and also themes of lust.
Love takes on different forms, for example; it can be lust, motherhood or affection.
The protagonists in both the poems are women; both women are lead away from reality and seem to be quite anti-men, because both the women portray the men in a bad light. Not only do they portray the men in a bad light but they also blame them for their circumstances and their downfall.
The common theme is that both women are treated badly and are exploited by the men.
The contrast is the differences between the attitudes of the Victorian girls and the attitudes of the modern girls in the 20th century. Despite the fact there is a century and half between the two poems the strongest contrast is that both poets have chosen a timeless theme which the readers can relate to no matter what time period it is.
Also there are several other contrasts for example; the man in 'cousin Kate is upper class, whereas the man in 'seduction' is working class, the theme of betrayal; the girl in 'seduction' is not only betrayed by the man but also by the glossy magazines, the girl in 'cousin Kate' tries to explain the concept of feminism to her cousin but is less than successful, she is betrayed by her own family when 'Kate' chooses the 'great lord' over herself.
The girl in 'seduction' is taken in by the 'my guy' magazines and is encouraged to see it abnormal to not lose her chastity at a certain age but in 'cousin kate' it is quite the antithesis, it is seen horrendous to lose your virginity before marriage. It is almost a romantic ballad gone wrong whereas in 'seduction' there is the idea of an ideal relationship gone ironically wrong although the girl in 'seduction' lives in a more sympathetic and acceptable society and is allowed to have an unplanned pregnancy or a relationship outside of a marriage status, although it is not encouraged in everyday life she is left quite the opposite of what you would have thought she would be like considering the conditions in which the girl in 'cousin Kate' was brought up in. The girl in 'seduction' is left suicidal and weak whereas the victim in 'Cousin Kate' is left strong, happy and victorious. Even though both poems are written in different time periods both poems explore the different attitudes that males and females have towards love, the fact that different facets of love that females and male have are that both women expect commitment in their relationship. In contrast to the men, the men emphasise physical beauty and lust in their attitude towards love, and they are quite emotionless compared to the women. The women are easily lead to the physical side of love. Both the women give in to the men even though they are very emotional whereas the men are very physical. The similarities are that although both the attitudes of the men and women have not changed over the periods of time, society's perception towards sex before marriage and unplanned pregnancies has however changed. Society does not approve of sex outside of marriage in the poem 'cousin Kate' because the girl in the poem is condemned because of her morality and her unethical actions whereas society approves of Kate because she did the dutiful thing and got married to him before considering to have any other kind of relationship. But in 'seduction' it does not say anything about society this is a valid point that proves that society does approve of sex before marriage because the title 'seduction' gives us the idea that society does except these things or else they would not have published it under such a name. Whereas in 'Cousin Kate' the poet would not be allowed to publish the poem under a word so explicit about the physical aspects of love.
I will be comparing and contrasting themes of love and naivety, betrayal and different facets of love in the poem, society's reaction to unplanned pregnancy or
Relationships and sex outside of marriage and also themes of lust.
Love takes on different forms, for example; it can be lust, motherhood or affection.
The protagonists in both the poems are women; both women are lead away from reality and seem to be quite anti-men, because both the women portray the men in a bad light. Not only do they portray the men in a bad light but they also blame them for their circumstances and their downfall.
The common theme is that both women are treated badly and are exploited by the men.
The contrast is the differences between the attitudes of the Victorian girls and the attitudes of the modern girls in the 20th century. Despite the fact there is a century and half between the two poems the strongest contrast is that both poets have chosen a timeless theme which the readers can relate to no matter what time period it is.
Also there are several other contrasts for example; the man in 'cousin Kate is upper class, whereas the man in 'seduction' is working class, the theme of betrayal; the girl in 'seduction' is not only betrayed by the man but also by the glossy magazines, the girl in 'cousin Kate' tries to explain the concept of feminism to her cousin but is less than successful, she is betrayed by her own family when 'Kate' chooses the 'great lord' over herself.
The girl in 'seduction' is taken in by the 'my guy' magazines and is encouraged to see it abnormal to not lose her chastity at a certain age but in 'cousin kate' it is quite the antithesis, it is seen horrendous to lose your virginity before marriage. It is almost a romantic ballad gone wrong whereas in 'seduction' there is the idea of an ideal relationship gone ironically wrong although the girl in 'seduction' lives in a more sympathetic and acceptable society and is allowed to have an unplanned pregnancy or a relationship outside of a marriage status, although it is not encouraged in everyday life she is left quite the opposite of what you would have thought she would be like considering the conditions in which the girl in 'cousin Kate' was brought up in. The girl in 'seduction' is left suicidal and weak whereas the victim in 'Cousin Kate' is left strong, happy and victorious. Even though both poems are written in different time periods both poems explore the different attitudes that males and females have towards love, the fact that different facets of love that females and male have are that both women expect commitment in their relationship. In contrast to the men, the men emphasise physical beauty and lust in their attitude towards love, and they are quite emotionless compared to the women. The women are easily lead to the physical side of love. Both the women give in to the men even though they are very emotional whereas the men are very physical. The similarities are that although both the attitudes of the men and women have not changed over the periods of time, society's perception towards sex before marriage and unplanned pregnancies has however changed. Society does not approve of sex outside of marriage in the poem 'cousin Kate' because the girl in the poem is condemned because of her morality and her unethical actions whereas society approves of Kate because she did the dutiful thing and got married to him before considering to have any other kind of relationship. But in 'seduction' it does not say anything about society this is a valid point that proves that society does approve of sex before marriage because the title 'seduction' gives us the idea that society does except these things or else they would not have published it under such a name. Whereas in 'Cousin Kate' the poet would not be allowed to publish the poem under a word so explicit about the physical aspects of love.
