Cousin Kate - Points of View.

A week or so ago we were looking at the poem 'Cousin Kate' and the points of view present within the poem. We also looked how important similes and metaphors are and whether certain quotes were real or symbolic. 

We started the lesson off with identifying the settings. One of the most obvious settings within the poem was the countryside - "cottage maiden" "worked the rye" and "along the lane" etc. Another possible setting in 'Cousin Kate' was in the form of poverty to wealth as we see the speaker go from a "maiden" to living in a "palace home"." Finally, the last possible setting in the poem was that is could be near the coast "writ in the sand" however, I believe this line to be more symbolic of the love between Kate and the Lord rather than one used to describe the setting.

Then we looked at whether certain points and quotes in the poem were real or symbolic. For example, "cottage maiden" was decided as symbolic of her poverty and naivety, we also believed it was symbolic as it helps you understand the poem as the reader realises the speaker was tricked and lured by the idea/possibility of a better life.

Furthermore, we believed the line "writ in the sand" to be symbolic of Kate and the Lord's love as it appears to be suggesting that their love is not true/real and it is a more materialistic love, for example, Kate is only after the "wedding ring" and the status of being a Lord's wife.

As a class we also considered the importance of similes and metaphors in the poem. We believed them to be of importance for several reasons,such as the fact that it helps present the speaker as a stronger character 'stronger wing' as well as show how the speaker has lost her purity and virginity 'who might have been a dove.'

Finally we considered the chronology of the poem and how effective it was, for example we felt the chronological order gave the poem some clarity and purpose. We also believed that the chronology helped show the journey and the life of the speaker and therefore helped the reader build the speaker as a person and how she has matured through her life.

*Forgotten: Destination.

We also looked at the possible destinations of the poem 'Cousin Kate' and we chose our top three. The top three destinations I personally thought were:

- Plight of a fallen woman

- Thought provoking female character

- Men divides women

I thought these were the destinations of the novel as it appears the Lord is symbolic of male destructiveness and of divisions between women as he divides the speaker and Kate. Additionally, 'Cousin Kate' appears to show the story of a fallen women as we see the speaker go from a innocent and virtuous 'cottage maiden' to being an 'impure thing' and an outcast from society. Finally, I felt a possible destination was how the female character was thought provoking. I thought this was a possible destination due to the twist in the ending of 'Cousin Kate' as the female character is shown as a strong woman who has taken control of her life and isn't being controlled by society or the Lord and so she was therefore thought provoking as she is symbolic of strength and in many ways feminism.