In the seduction the setting is described as being dark, deserted and silent.
“He sat in the darkness… where I go by myself,”
This describes an ideal place where the man can seduce the girl. From the 8th stanza onwards Eileen McAuley emphasizes the girls age and the regret she has for the one nightstand.
Both settings are in contrast with each other ”Cousin Kate“ is described as pastoral life, with a gentle almost perfect environment, ”The Seduction “ describes the nightlife of a town perhaps, where a girl meets a man in a club or pub perhaps and then is taken to a deserted place in the town. The docks examine the significance of this.
In ”Cousin Kate “ the maiden is described as being happy, content.
“Contented with my cottage mates”
This implies the fact that she was happier before she met the lord. She was happy spending time with her friends until she was used. This is shown by the positive Lexis used in the first part of the poem: “contented, joy, great” these all suggest that she is herself, happy and enjoying life. These are a lexical set of happiness.
The poem also describes how the maiden was used in order to get to Kate.
“He lured me” “he wore me like a silken knot” “he changed me like a glove”
These show how the lord trapped the maiden just for sex. The quotes suggest the lord’s power and control he has over the maiden, the similes show that he is rough toward the maiden and the quote “he wore her like a glove” suggests that she is easily removed and can be cast away easily.
In “the seduction” the girl is described as she is under the influence of alcohol. ”Bottles of vodka “ this suggests that he is trying to get her drunk in order to seduce her.
The poem also describes how the young girl is totally used.
“Little slag”
This noun phrase shows the man has a total lack of respect for her, and so he knows he will get something out of her because she is young and silly. The man sees her as an easy target due to her mental state, as she is drunk, he must think she is also quiet gullible.
Eileen McAuley also describes her when she is pregnant in much detail. In the 8th stanza, the writing contains harsh diction showing that her life is over now that she is pregnant at a young age. ’She sobbed in the cool, locked in darkness of her room ‘
This suggests that she is reflecting on what she has done and is regretting that it happened because she has yet to suffer the consequences.
In both poems the use of imagery occurs, increasing the level of contrast and description.
In “Cousin Kate” a lot of images are created.
“Maiden” this gives an image of a single women, which gives us some background information on the protagonist.
“Palace home” this is in sharp contrast to the cottage, which might be the reason why Kate has fallen in love with the lord. He is wealthy and is a man of great power, whereas Kate comes from a country-life background, where she was not wealthy and had to work, but if she fell for the prince she wouldn’t have to work.
There is also sharp contrast between the protagonists, Kate and the maiden.
“ He lured me to his palace home “ ” He lifted you from your mean estate “
This shows that his authority and power brought the maiden to the lord, as if he picked her up off the streets whereas he attracted Kate to him by his power, riches, and his palace.
In “The Seduction” there are different ways which imagery is used.
“He led”
Shows that he is in control. The anonymity displays that he has more experience and so he knows what he is doing and so he will lead her.
“Wide blue eyes”
Shows her innocence, which is contrasted to his experience. It shows that she is led to believe that what she is doing is right, because she doesn’t know right from wrong because she is drunk.
“Festering”
She would rather be left to rot than to grow up without living life properly, instead of being at a disco, she will have to stay at home looking after her child. She has the rest of her life ahead of her but won’t be able to live it now. She is displaying her regret for her experience now.
Both poems are similar to some extent. ‘Cousin Kate’ and ‘The Seduction’ both describe girls in the same sort of situation. Both stuck and broken because of men. But yet they are different as well because ‘Cousin Kate’ describes a maiden who falls in love whereas ‘The Seduction’ describes a girl who under goes a one-night stand because she is drunk.
In my opinion I feel more sorry for the maiden in ‘Cousin Kate’ this is purely because, she has fallen in love with a lord and then out of the blue is cast away like a piece of rubbish for a relative her ‘Cousin Kate’, it is almost as if she is used to get closer to her cousin by the lord. In which she suffers from lovesickness and is in an unrequited love situation.
In ‘The Seduction’ the young girl chooses to get drunk underage and so what ever happened, it happened by reason. And so I feel no sympathy for the girl at all, she chose to get drunk she must suffer the consequences.
By Claire Scott 10T