Cousin Kate (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: C720
Cousin Kate
Here is a guide to Christina Rossetti’s 'Cousin Kate' to help prepare you for the Eduqas GCSE English Literature exam. It includes:
Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of Rossetti’s techniques and methods
Historical and literary context: an exploration of connections between contextual aspects and the themes and ideas within Rossetti’s poem
Linking the poems: an understanding of how ‘Cousin Kate’ connects to other poems in the Eduqas GCSE English Literature Poetry Anthology
Overview
To answer an essay question on any poem, it is essential that you understand what it is about. This section includes:
An overview of the poem
An explanation of the poem, section-by-section
An outline of Rossetti’s intention and message in each of these sections
'Cousin Kate' overview
In 'Cousin Kate', an unnamed young woman tells the story of her conflict with her cousin, Kate. She relates how she was fooled into becoming the mistress of a “great lord”, a man of much higher social status. Her lover then abandoned her in order to marry her cousin. The speaker is left with an illegitimate child, which makes her a social outcast. She rages against the injustice of her situation, especially in comparison with the respectability and luxury enjoyed by Kate. However, she takes bitter pleasure in the fact that she has a son, while Kate has not produced an heir for her husband.
'Cousin Kate' translation
Lines 1–8
“I was a cottage-maiden
Hardened by sun and air,
Contented with my cottage-mates,
Not mindful I was fair.
Why did a great lord find me out,
And praise my flaxen hair?
Why did a great lord find me out
To fill my heart with care?”
Translation
The speaker was once a young woman from a low social status who lived in the countryside
She was healthy and happy with her life
She was not aware of her beauty and had not thought about romantic relationships
Why did a “great lord”, a man of much higher social standing, notice her and flatter her?
Why did he do that, then make her miserable?
Rossetti’s intention
The speaker is remembering her life before the events that led to her current situation
Rossetti wants to contrast the speaker’s early, happy life with her current misery
Rossetti implies that the speaker’s life would have continued happily if the “great lord”, a nobleman, hadn’t noticed her
The speaker’s rhetorical questions show that she doesn’t understand why these things happened:
This implies that she had little control over the situation
The repetition of “find me out” implies that the man was searching, or hunting, for her
Rossetti is making the case that the speaker was an innocent victim, and the “great lord” is responsible for her suffering
Lines 9–16
“He lured me to his palace-home –
Woe’s me for joy thereof –
To lead a shameless shameful life,
His plaything and his love.
He wore me like a golden knot,
He changed me like a glove:
So now I moan, an unclean thing
Who might have been a dove.”
Translation
The nobleman tempted the speaker to go and live with him in his palace
The speaker now regrets that she went with him happily
The nobleman appeared to love her, but treated her casually and without respect
He discarded her like a glove when he spotted someone he preferred more
Now, she is miserable and disgraced, when she could have been pure and innocent, like a dove
Rossetti’s intention
The speaker was “lured” by the nobleman to live with him, which implies that he tricked or trapped her into becoming his lover, possibly with promises of marriage
The speaker’s current “woe” is for feeling “joy” when she became his lover:
This implies that she believed his love to be real, before realising that he seduced her under false pretences
“Shameless” describes how people would have characterised her actions:
Her life was also “shameful” because she wasn’t married, which went against the social expectations of Rossetti’s time
The contradiction in the speaker being both a “plaything” and the nobleman’s “love” emphasises the nobleman’s deceit:
He made her believe he loved her, but she was just a casual enjoyment for him
The image of being worn “like a glove” shows how easily the nobleman cast the speaker aside, like taking off a glove
The speaker’s bitter regret for her actions is shown in her description of herself as an “unclean thing”:
She has internalised her social rejection, seeing herself as a “thing” that isn’t even human
The dove, a traditional image of purity and innocence, is used to present a dramatic contrast between the speaker’s ruin and what might have been
In this verse, Rossetti is illustrating the difference between the terrible consequences of sexual transgression for a woman and the apparent lack of any consequences for men
Lines 17–24
“O Lady Kate, my Cousin Kate,
You grow more fair than I:
He saw you at your father’s gate,
Chose you, and cast me by.
He watched your steps along the lane,
Your work among the rye:
He lifted you from mean estate
To sit with him on high.”
Translation
Cousin Kate’s title, “Lady”, shows that she is married to the nobleman
Kate grew up even more beautiful than the speaker
When the nobleman saw her, she was still living in her father’s house
The nobleman chose Kate and discarded the speaker
He watched Kate as she went about her daily life
He raised her social status by marrying her
Rossetti’s intention
The speaker’s direct address to her cousin makes her grievance feel more dramatic
The description of the nobleman watching Kate suggests the calculating, almost predatory nature of his interest:
It also mirrors his behaviour towards the speaker when he first met her
In this stanza, Rossetti emphasises the nobleman’s power:
He is able to marry the woman of his choice, regardless of his immoral behaviour
He is also able to discard his previous lover without consequence
Lines 25–32
“Because you were so good and pure
He bound you with his ring:
The neighbours call you good and pure,
Call me an outcast thing.
Even so I sit and howl in dust
You sit in gold and sing:
Now which of us has tenderer heart?
You had the stronger wing.”
Translation
Kate refused to have sex with the nobleman unless he married her
For this reason alone, the neighbours praise Kate’s goodness and purity, while they reject and despise the speaker
While the speaker is suffering for her actions, Kate is enjoying a pleasant, luxurious life
The speaker speculates that she was persuaded by the nobleman because she has a softer heart
However, Kate’s determination to make the nobleman marry her was stronger:
Her “stronger wing” is a metaphor for her stronger will and ambitions
Rossetti’s intention
In this stanza, the speaker is comparing the nobleman’s seduction of her with Kate’s resistance to him
Rossetti shows the contrast between the outcomes for the speaker and her cousin:
Kate’s happiness is based on her marital status
The speaker’s misery is based on her unmarried state
The reference to the “gold”, or wealth, that Kate enjoys contrasts with the “golden knot” that characterised the speaker’s relationship with the nobleman:
This represents a sense of the speaker’s entrapment, as opposed to Kate’s ease and luxury
Rossetti is illustrating how misplaced trust can lead to a lifetime of social exclusion
Lines 33–40
“O Cousin Kate, my love was true,
Your love was writ in sand:
If he had fooled not me but you,
If you stood where I stand,
He had not won me with his love
Nor bought me with his land:
I would have spit into his face
And not have taken his hand.”
Translation
The speaker’s love for the nobleman was real, but Kate’s was not
If the situation were reversed, the speaker wouldn’t have been persuaded by his wealth and status – “his land” – or his love
Instead, she would have rejected him violently
Rossetti’s intention
The speaker compares her actions with her cousin’s:
She claims her love was genuine, but Kate’s was “writ in sand”: not sincere or lasting
If their situations were reversed, and Kate had been the seduced one, the speaker would have seen what kind of man he was:
She would never have agreed to marry him
The speaker implies that Kate has only married the nobleman for his wealth:
However, Rossetti also implies that Kate has less autonomy than the speaker suggests
She describes her being “won” like a prize, and “bought” like an object
This stanza questions the social mores of Rossetti’s time:
Kate has done the right thing according to social convention, but has wronged the speaker
This is because she has behaved in a materialistic, uncaring and disloyal way
Lines 41–48
“Yet I’ve a gift you have not got
And seem not like to get:
For all your clothes and wedding-ring
I’ve little doubt you fret.
My fair-haired son, my shame, my pride,
Cling closer, closer yet:
Your sire would give lands for one
To wear his coronet.”
Translation
However, the speaker has something that Kate hasn’t got, and doesn’t seem likely to get
Despite Kate’s marriage and riches, the speaker believes she is sad about something
The speaker has an illegitimate son, who is a source of shame and pride to her
The nobleman would love to have a son to inherit his lands and title
Rossetti’s intention
Rossetti shows that, although the speaker’s son is illegitimate, he is loved:
The speaker describes him as a “gift” and her “pride”
She instructs him to “cling closer” to her, implying that she is his only source of comfort and protection
However, being an unmarried mother is also a reason for the speaker’s “shame” in the eyes of society
She expresses her bitterness by taunting Kate:
Kate is the one who has married the nobleman, but she can’t give him a child
The speaker’s son is illegitimate, so he can’t be the nobleman’s heir
The fact that the speaker has something that Kate wants very much gives her a sense of bitter victory
However, Rossetti’s focus is on the injustice that led to the speaker’s social rejection:
Women were disempowered in her society, because men could get away with destroying a woman’s life without suffering any negative consequences
Writer's methods
This section is split into three separate areas: form, structure and language. However, it’s important to link these areas of Rossetti’s writing together, in order to understand how she is presenting her ideas and why she has made those choices. Think about how Rossetti’s language, structure and form contribute to her theme and message in 'Cousin Kate'.
You will gain far more marks by focusing on Rossetti’s themes, rather than individual poetic techniques. In the following sections, all the analysis is arranged by theme, including Rossetti’s intentions behind her choices of:
Form
Structure
Language
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The best way to discuss the technical aspects of poems, such as their form, structure and language, is to link your knowledge of them with the themes and ideas in the poem. You should demonstrate your understanding of how Rossetti gets her meaning across.
That means you should avoid identifying poetic techniques without linking them to the themes of 'Cousin Kate'. Your response should show how Rossetti uses form, structure and language to make her ideas clearer and more effective. For example, instead of writing “Rossetti uses a traditional ballad form”, you could state that “Rossetti’s use of the ballad form emphasises the universal nature of her message”.
Form
'Cousin Kate' is a narrative poem, written in the form of a ballad. The stanzas contain two quatrains each, with alternating lines of eight and six beats and a rhyme scheme of ABCB. The poem is also a monologue, which emphasises the speaker’s direct address and intensifies her emotions as she tells her story.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Conflict and injustice
| The rhythm and rhyme scheme of the ballad form give the speaker’s story a traditional feel:
| The traditional ballad form highlights the injustice suffered by the speaker:
|
Rossetti uses enjambment at the end of alternate lines, so that the poem is largely presented as a series of statements | This emphasises the declaratory effect of the speaker’s story:
|
Structure
The poem’s structure tells the story of the speaker’s downfall, returning every few lines to her current feelings of sadness, shame, anger and resentment towards her cousin. This movement between the past and present emphasises the cause-and-effect nature of events in the poem. This in turn suggests the inevitability of the outcome, as well as the lack of consequences for the nobleman who betrayed her trust.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Conflict and injustice
| The poem uses iambic metre (with a stress on every second syllable: de-DA), which emphasises certain words:
| Rossetti uses the metre to emphasise particular words:
|
Rossetti’s use of direct address (“I” and “you”) emphasises the accusatory tone of her conflict with her cousin | The continuous movement between “I” and “you” from the third stanza onwards emphasises the conflict between the speaker and her cousin:
| |
Inequality | The speaker does not address the “great lord” directly, as she does her cousin Kate:
| The speaker never uses “you” to address the nobleman:
|
Rossetti uses anaphora and parallel syntax in the first stanza when the speaker repeats her question: “Why did a great lord find me out?”
| Rossetti uses these techniques to emphasise the speaker’s lack of power in her situation:
| |
Rossetti uses repetition to draw attention to the inequalities between the speaker’s social disgrace and her cousin’s socially secure position:
| The speaker’s repeated description of herself as a “thing” shows how her experiences have dehumanised her:
|
Language
Rossetti employs a range of metaphors and similes to convey her speaker’s situation. This is because her Victorian readers would have been shocked, or even alienated, by more direct descriptions of her speaker’s sexual relationship. They would have been capable of interpreting Rossetti’s language and its intended meaning. The poem also uses a number of language techniques to convey the speaker’s misery, disempowerment and sense of injustice.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Conflict and injustice
| Rossetti uses animal metaphors to convey the speaker’s feelings of injustice:
| The image of the dove has associations with purity and innocence:
|
Rossetti also makes use of assonance to convey her speaker’s emotional state | Rossetti uses the repeated “o” sounds of “woe”, “moan” and “howl” to emphasise the speaker’s sorrow:
| |
Inequality
| The poem presents the speaker’s unequal relationship with the nobleman through the use of similes:
| These similes compare the speaker to an object that can be discarded without a second thought or any consequences:
|
The way Rossetti uses verbs conveys the speaker’s – and her cousin’s – lack of power in their relationship with the nobleman | In interactions with the nobleman, his actions are described using active verbs, such as “find”, “lured”, “chose” and “watched”:
| |
The use of contrast in the poem illustrates the speaker’s conflicted state of mind | The phrases “shameless shameful life” and “my shame, my pride” convey her conflicting emotions:
|
Historical and literary context
Context offers you a different perspective on a poem and can enrich your engagement with it. However, you should aim to only use your knowledge of context to support your analysis of Rossetti’s ideas. Examiners don’t want to see chunks of information about Rossetti’s life or the times she lived in, unless they are supporting a response about the themes of the poem. The ideas explored in 'Cousin Kate' centre on the conflicts caused by injustice and inequality, especially for women. Therefore, this section has been bullet-pointed under the following themes:
Conflict and injustice
Inequality
Conflict and injustice
The Victorian Era, when Rossetti was writing, was marked by deep injustices in the way society was organised:
There was a huge gap between the richest and the poorest in society
Things like infant mortality rates for the poor were extremely high
Christina Rossetti grew up in a very artistic family:
All the children were encouraged to develop their creative talents
Rossetti’s brothers went on to have successful careers in painting and writing
Rossetti wrote poetry all her life, and some of it was published:
However, she did not have a professional career, like her brothers
Instead, she spent most of her life caring for her invalid father
Rossetti became deeply involved in the Anglo-Catholic movement at an early age:
Her life was ruled by strict moral and religious principles
She never married, and cancelled plans for marriage twice
Rossetti published 'Cousin Kate' in 1862 in her collection Goblin Market and Other Poems:
The title poem of the collection, ‘Goblin Market’, focuses on women’s vulnerability to deception, just like 'Cousin Kate'
Much of Rossetti’s writing focuses on the injustice experienced by women
Inequality
One of the most striking inequalities in the Victorian Era was the attitudes towards men and women:
Women were believed to be inferior to men physically and intellectually
They had few legal rights, and were seen as their husbands’ property
However, the moral expectations of women were extremely high
Rossetti’s work often focuses on the unfair expectations placed on women’s moral and sexual behaviour:
Women were expected to be chaste (to not have sex outside of marriage)
The same expectations were not placed on men
Rossetti experienced the results of this inequality directly:
She volunteered at a charity for fallen women for ten years
She worked with women whose lives had been ruined by their transgression of sexual norms
Rossetti’s concern with the inequality between women and men can be seen in 'Cousin Kate':
The speaker is an outcast, because she has had a child outside of marriage
The nobleman who ruined her life suffers no consequences
The speaker lacks the power to confront the man, and instead attacks her cousin
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Your response should show your understanding of the relationship between the poem and its context. Demonstrating your knowledge of contexts is a great way to add complexity to your analysis of the poem’s themes and ideas.
However, you should avoid including sections of information about Rossetti’s life or the Victorian Era without connecting them to the ideas she presents in 'Cousin Kate'. Aim to use your knowledge of contexts to support your analysis of Rossetti’s message. Your main focus should be on the poem’s key themes and how you can link them with the themes of other poems in your Conflict anthology.
Linking the poems
The Eduqas GCSE English Literature exam asks you to compare two poems from the anthology. You will be given the text of one poem in the question paper, but you will need to compare this with another poem of your choice, one that comments on the particular theme in the question. It stands to reason, then, that it will be a good idea to understand your anthology poems according to their themes.
Here, you will find a guided list of poems that work well together, and how they are linked by a common theme. Do remember, though, the list below is not exhaustive and themes and ideas often overlap.
The poems you could link with Rossetti's 'Cousin Kate' are:
'Disabled' by Wilfred Owen
'The Schoolboy' by William Blake
'Remains' by Simon Armitage
'Decomposition' by Zulfikar Ghose
'Dusting the Phone' by Jackie Kay
Conflict and injustice | ||
|---|---|---|
'Disabled' | 'The Schoolboy' | 'Remains' |
Both poems highlight the injustice of youthful exploitation and the conflict of subsequently being discarded by society | Exploration of the injustice faced by those who are entirely powerless | Contrasts the romantic and societal conflict in 'Cousin Kate' with the real and psychological conflict of warfare |
Inequality | |
|---|---|
'Decomposition' | 'Dusting the Phone' |
Exploration of extreme social and economic inequality | Both poems tackle severe inequality and power imbalances within romantic relationships |
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