Comparing poems: “Cousin Kate” and “Catrin”

Comparing poems: “Cousin Kate” and “Catrin”
Conflict is presented in the poems “Cousin Kate” and “Catrin”. In the poems the conflict is based on the relationships between families. However, in “Cousin Kate”, the conflict is also in the class divide of a powerful lord and a poor maiden who I s controlled and abused by the lord. “Catrin” focuses on the bond between a mother and daughter and the conflict that relationship brings. The imagery in “Cousin Kate” conveys how the love between the lord and the poor maiden was only temporary. “He wore me like a golden knot, He changed me like a glove”. The clothing imagery illustrates that the women meant hardly anything to the man. She was just disposable, like an inanimate object. “A golden knot” portrays how the maiden was trapped in the relationship with the lord but it also refers to the temporary nature of their relationship. Knots can be easily untied.
Contrastingly in “Catrin” the imagery is extended to demonstrate the permanence of the relationship between the mother and daughter. “Red rope of love” and “From the heart’s pool that old rope”. This metaphor implies the mental and physical bonds between the two people. Alliteration in “red rope” emphasises the sense of anger that love can sometimes cause. The rope is a metaphorical tie between the mother and daughter which connects the two, despite their differences. Furthermore the “red rope” contrasts with the colour of the white room. This depicts how the passion of the relationship stands out in the “hot, white room” of the hospital that is mentioned earlier in the poem. Extended imagery helps to establish how the love between the mother and daughter is unconditional and constant despite any conflict, unlike the relationship between the maiden and the lord in “Cousin Kate” where the persona is just tossed aside when a prettier woman comes along.
At the end of the poem “Cousin Kate” alliteration is used to give a strong sense of protection. “Yet I’ve a