Term
| "The key upon her, fast." |
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Definition
| The wife is securely contained after she ran away just as the word "fast" is contained between a comma and a full stop. |
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Term
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Definition
| Suggests a lack of formal education creating a personality of the farmer in his rural environment. |
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Term
| "Flying like a hare" "like a little frightened fay" |
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Definition
| The farmer's wife is frequently compared to a wild animal confirming the rural setting of the poem and the attitude towards his wife - as if she needs taming. |
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Term
| "Sweet...to her wild self. But what to me?" |
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Definition
| Although the farmer admires his wife, she doesn't offer him the affection he desires. The rhetorical question ends the stanza and is strongly suggestive of his unhappiness. |
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Term
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Definition
| Suggests that she's still a virgin - a "maid" is a young, unmarried girl. |
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