Understanding the poem 'The Farmer's Bride' by Charlotte Mew
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can understand how Mew presents a dysfunctional relationship
Key learning points
- The bride is forced to marry the farmer at a young age and is scared of her husband.
- The bride attempts to run away and then is chased and captured by a group of men.
- When the bride returns she is locked up by her husband and becomes reclusive.
- Despite her refusal to speak, the farmer still fantasises about his wife.
- Mew was writing at a time when women's position in society was often restrictive.
Keywords
Autonomy - independence over one’s thoughts and actions
Suffrage - the right to vote- in the early 20th century women's suffrage was an important political issue
Dramatic monologue - a poem written in the form of a speech from an individual character
Dysfunctional - not operating properly; broken
Common misconception
The farmer is simply trying to care for his wife, his actions are well-intentioned and innocent.
The farmer's attempts to care for his wife may initially seem genuine, but the poem suggests a deeper complexity to their relationship. The bride's evident distress and desire to escape challenge the notion of the farmer's benevolence.
Teacher tip
The poem is a narrative story with several key plot points. It may be useful to get students to create a timeline to understand the poem's chronology.
Equipment
You will need a copy of 'The Farmer's Bride' by Charlotte Mew which can be found in the AQA 'Love and Relationships' Anthology and the additional materials.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sexual violence
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.If a poem is written as a long speech from an individual then it is a ...
Q2.When did women first get the vote in the UK?
Q3.In English, we can 'annotate' a poem. What does this mean?
Q4.If something is dysfunctional it is ...
Q5.Which of the below are plausible synonyms of autonomy?
Q6.If a poem is written in 1916 then it was written in the ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Who wrote 'The Farmer's Bride'?
Q2.The poem 'The Farmer's Bride' is written from the perspective of ...
Q3.Starting with the first, put these events from 'The Farmer's Bride' in chronological order.
Q4.The poem is called 'The Farmer's Bride' and not 'Wife' but they have been married for over three years. What is a plausible explanation for this?
Q5.Think about the context of 'The Farmer's Bride'. At the time of writing, women usually had decisions taken for them by either a husband or father. As such, we would say that they lacked ...
Q6.Throughout the poem 'The Farmer's Bride', the bride is compared to different animals to highlight her vulnerability and captivity. Which animals is she compared to?
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: Understanding the poem 'The Farmer's Bride' by Charlotte Mew, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 English lesson on: Understanding the poem 'The Farmer's Bride' by Charlotte Mew, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 English lessons from the Love and relationships poetry continued unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.