The poems "the seduction" and "cousin Kate".

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The poems “the seduction” and “cousin Kate” that I will explore both show how women are conveyed as objects to be taken advantage of by men. The poems also talk about pregnancies, how both women were used for sex and then were left pregnant with a broken heart. Both women had to cope with the pain that they had made a mistake and had been deceived by the opposite sex. In both poems the man has been revealed to be manipulative and dominant, taking advantage of the women’s position. For example in the poem “The Seduction” he gets the young female intoxicated (drunk) and then took advantage of the situation. The poet Eileen McAuley wrote the poem "Cousin Kate" and Christina Rosseti wrote “The Seduction”. With this essay I will be showing how both poems are similar and also acknowledging the differences between them both. I will also like to convey my understanding, thoughts and feelings about these poems to the reader of this essay.

     

Both poems were set in separate times. The poems emphasise at different points throughout the poem that they were set in different time spans. The poem cousin Kate was shown to be in the times of the 19th century.  Christina lived in the time of the Victorians. She was a young beautiful woman who was passionate about her work. Christina wasn't a stranger to love and love wasn't a stranger to her. Christina had a number of lovers, at one point Christina was engaged to who she thought would be her husband. James Collinson was her hansom fiancé but in 1850 she broke up the engagement as a cause of religious beliefs; James had become a Roman catholic and Christina was a strong Christina. Christina is an amazing poet, her poetry is strong, personal, and passionate and also unforced and these are just a few of the things that make her such a great poet.

Eileen McAuley was born in the 20th century; she lived in times where the government wanted the Victorian values of family to return. These values were “hard work and self-reliance”. The employment rate was decreasing and this caused prostitution, drunkenness and homelessness to increase. Aids also increased at a cause of the more sexual activities, which was unprotected. Teenage pregnancies became more frequent and the young pregnant females were also judged because of their situation.

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The two poems try to convey the seriousness of the women’s situation to us through different means.

Full of fresh fruit diets – how did she feel betrayed?”

This is a poetic device in which both poets used effectively. Repetition of the F’s in this case makes the words stand out and puts a certain bitter touch to that individual line. A similar occurrence happens in “Cousin Kate”.

Cling closer, closer yet:”

This is repetition of the C’s. I feel that in this circumstance it has just as much effect with the ...

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