Lord Byron - When We Two Parted

Question 1

What is “When We Two Parted” about?

Answer 1

• The narrator recalls the day he and his lover parted, she seemed to no longer have any feelings for him.
• Though time has passed, hearing people talk about her hurts him deeply, especially hearing about her affairs with other men.
• He also believes that he’ll always feel hurt and that he feels more pain now than he did when they broke up.

Question 2

Give a brief synopsis of the poem

Answer 2

• The speaker states that they have separated with a lover and are upset about it
• He expresses the impact of the separation on him
• The speaker says how the relationship was a secret so none of his friends know of the suffering he is enduring

Question 3

Who is the poet’s lover rumoured to be?

Answer 3

• Lady Francis Webster, who at the time it was written was married to a friend of Byron’s and later had an affair with the Duke of Wellington. “…light is thy fame;”
• Suggests that the lover’s affairs are a kind of open secret.

Question 4

When was the poet alive?

Answer 4

1788-1824

Question 5

When was the poem published? + claimed to be written?

Answer 5

1816
1808

Question 6

Context regarding Lord Byron:

Answer 6

• Romantic poet who was frequently embroiled in public scandals
• Apparently had an illegitimate child with his half sister
• Byron engaged in shameful activities, affairs + debt
• Moved to Lake Geneva in 1816

Question 7

What is the literary context of this poem?

Answer 7

• Byron rejected societal convention throughout his life, including his work
• He created the archetype of the Byronic hero

Question 8

What may traits may a Byronic hero possess?

Answer 8

• Rejecting of authority
• Sexually attractive
• Self-destructive
• An outsider
• Secretive

Question 9

“When we two parted”

Answer 9

• Repeated “W” sounds allude to the difficulty being expressed by the speaker
• “We two” - narrator addresses the former lover directly, makes poem feel more personally
• Contrasts the use of “They” in stanza three - hints that he shared a bond with his lover that they keep separate and secret from others

Question 10

“In silence and tears,”

Answer 10

• Use of sibilance creates uncomfortable sound for the listener, funeral like connotations
• “Silence” mean that they had nothing to say to each other any more, could also reflect that relationship was a secret and couldn’t be loudly proclaimed as over

Question 11

“Half broken hearted”

Answer 11

• Suggest that they weren’t properly in love with each other - but clear that narrator was deeply affected by their parting
• Maybe accusing lover of being “half” in love with him or that he is only “half” of the couple that is broken-hearted

Question 12

“To sever for years,”

Answer 12

• “Sever” has violent connotations, show that the speaker is fully separated from their former lover
• Violent imagery suggests that the parting was a painful and traumatic experience

Question 13

“Pale grew thy cheek and cold,”

Answer 13

• Idea of pale cheek and cold kiss has death-like connotations - implies that speaker is mourning death of relationship
• Describe lover like a corpse - implies her feelings for him have died
• Byron also shows physical impact of the character’s sadness
• “Grew” suggests that a relationship is never concluded, only changes over time

Question 14

“Colder thy kiss;”

Answer 14

• Implications of emotional detachment, “thy” suggests that the speaker is placing blame for breakdown of relationship on his lover rather than his actions or emotions
• Repetition of harsh “K” sound emphasises the lover’s coldness

Question 15

“Truly that hour foretold”
“Sorrow to this.”

Answer 15

• Enjambment emphasises link between past and present, shows how his sorrow is ongoing

Question 16

“The dew of the morning”

Answer 16

• Fresh natural connotations of morning dew are subverted to denote the speaker’s sadness - shows overwhelming desperation

Question 17

“Sank chill on my brow -“

Answer 17

• Use of cold imagery throughout poem shows lack of loving warmth in the speaker’s life
• “Sunk” implies that speaker is feeling the heaviness of their lack of love weighing on them
• Cold dew on narrator’s forehead reflects coldness between him and his lover

Question 18

“It felt like the warning”
“Of what I feel now,”

Answer 18

• Image of dew is used to foreshadow the speaker’s tears
• “Now” - poem switches to present tense, demonstrating that his suffering is ongoing

Question 19

“Thy vows are all broken,”

Answer 19

• Implies the breakdown of marriage, showing that the speaker has lost a significant relationship and also a sacred promise has been broken
• Links back the “broken” in “broken-hearted” of first stanza, emphasises feelings haven’t changed

Question 20

“And light is thy fame;”

Answer 20

• Lover’s reputation is damaged because people know about her affairs

Question 21

“I hear thy name spoken,”
“ And share in its shame.” //
“ They name thee before me,”

Answer 21

• He hears people talking about the former lover, and the affairs she’s now having - painful for him
• Sibilant alliteration here to emphasise the shame experienced after public break down of relationship
• Repeated “sh” sounds link to theme of silence, reflects how narrator couldn’t openly talk abut his lost love
• “Shame” - narrator feels as though he is involved with lover’s shame since he also had an affair with her

Question 22

“A knell in mine ear;”

Answer 22

• “Knell” alludes to sound of a funeral bell, furthering theme of death in the poem, adds to impression of the speaker being in mourning
• Introduces the effect synaesthesia, as he later references the physical sense of a “shudder” and here he has referenced noise. - overwhelming nature of senses could be argued to mirror the all-consuming nature of relationship
• Metaphor. implies that hearing lover’s name feels like hearing funeral bells, reminding how relationship has died

Question 23

“A shudder comes o’er me -“

Answer 23

• Shows physical impact of speaker’s sadness

Question 24

“Why wert thou so dear?”

Answer 24

• The rhetorical question emphasises how deeply he felt for her, it shows how it is painful for him to hear how she’s having affairs with other men.
• Also shows how he has become uncertain around someone he was once intimately familiar with

Question 25

“They know not I knew thee,”
“Who knew thee too well -“
“ Long, Long, shall I rue thee,”

Answer 25

• Repeated use of “thee” - narrator repeatedly addresses the lover directly, which creates impression that he’s still preoccupied with her, shows how her actions continue to upset him
• Emphatic repetition of “long” shows speaker’s state of hopelessness, & how long he will feel regret
• “Rue” shows how he doesn’t just feel sadness but also regrets relationship in the first place

Question 26

“Too deeply to tell.”

Answer 26

• Reveals that his silence isn’t solely for the need for secrecy, but also because he feels he is incapable of expressing the depth of his pain.

Question 27

“In secret we met -“

Answer 27

• Alludes to an affair - poem uses collective pronouns very infrequently, therefore this highlights this line as a significant point in their relationship
• This, in conjunction with the past participle “met”, suggests that they used to enjoy unity, but now they have reverted to being separate entities

Question 28

“In silence I grieve,”

Answer 28

• Reminds the reader that because no-one knew about their affair, he cannot talk about his pain.
• Makes it seem like the poem is an internal monologue rather than meant to be spoken aloud
• “Grieve” - acts as though he’s mourning a death, reflects his sadness at the end of relationship

Question 29

“That thy heart could forget,”
“Thy spirit deceive.”

Answer 29

• Accusatory language, “deceive”, “forget”, implies to the reader that he feels angry with the lover and how their relationship ended

Question 30

” If I should meet thee”

Answer 30

• The poem switches to think about the future and displays his pessimism of how he believes that he’ll still be preoccupied with her even after many years.

Question 31

“After long years,”

Answer 31

• Shows that speaker still has hope that they may be reunited again in the future
• Repeats adjective “long” again, further emphasises that the pain of moving apart and separating won’t leave the speaker, continues to haunt him frequently

Question 32

“How should I greet thee? -“
“With silence and tears.”

Answer 32

• “Silence and tears” - repetition from stanza 1 emphasises the need for secrecy and his sorrow, still hurting and unable to move on
• Rhetorical question alludes to his solitude
• Poem ends emphatically with a full stop, shows that all the speaker is left with is silence and tears, also a response to rhetorical question, which is unusual - could be argued to mirror unconventional dynamic of their relationship

Question 33

Describe the perspective the poem uses

Answer 33

• Written in first person, shows how personal the poem is, narrative form creates impression of an insular environment to highlight speaker’s isolation
• Speaker is heavily fixated on his emotions and expresses them readily - implies those emotions have built up over time and the speaker is desperate to express them

Question 34

Describe the opening of the poem

Answer 34

• Opens with the same line as the title to establish an intense tone from the start
• Tone is unwavering throughout the poem so by starting in the same way, Byron provides the listener with no relief from this emotional intensity

Question 35

Describe the structure of the poem

Answer 35

• The poem moves through time, constantly shifting between past, present and future.
• The juxtaposition between past and future emphasises that there’s no change in his feelings.
• Cyclical narrative - no progression, implying speaker’s sadness is repetitive and ongoing
  e.g. Poem begins with speaker discussing his “silence and tears” and ends with him discussing how he shall “rue thee, // Too deeply to tell”.

Question 36

Describe the form and meter of the poem regarding accentual verse

Answer 36

• The poem is made up of four octaves
• Written in accentual verse (number of stresses per line must be consistent throughout the poem) - however number of syllables can vary
• Two stresses per line - could be representative of two separate people
  e.g. WHEN we two PARTed
  In SILence and TEARS,
  HALF broekn-HEARTed
  To SEVer for YEARS
• Accentual verse common in Old English literature - suggests relationship is traditional
• Verse has greater flexibility than more rigid rhyming and syllable structures - freedom by this form allows for the expression of intense emotion which is characteristic of a Romantic poem but unexpected of a contemporary man

Question 37

Describe the form and meter of the poem regarding rhyme scheme

Answer 37

• Repetitive rhythm of poem demonstrates regularity of the speaker’s sadness, seemingly endless
• Strong ABABCDCD rhyme scheme - emphasises certain syllables, highlights pain

Question 38

Describe the form and meter of the poem regarding line lengths

Answer 38

• Irregular which gives poem a conversational tone, adds to authenticity to the speaker’s sadness

Question 39

Describe the use of language about the semantic field of death

Answer 39

• The narrator compares his break up to a death, which emphasises his former lover’s lack of feelings for him.
• Byron frequently uses lexis from the semantic field of death to emphasise the significance of the speaker’s suffering
• e.g. Tactile imagery used in “pale grew… colder thy kiss” acts as a metaphor to compare the speaker’s former lover with a dead body - shows how his lover no longer has love or warmth for the speaker, implied he is dead to her
• e.g. Auditory imagery used in “Knell in mine ear” - provide connotations of the bell used to sombrely announce a death - contributes to deathly atmosphere, increasing listener’s impression of the speaker experience an absence of love

Question 40

Describe the use of language about despair

Answer 40

• Use of language creates a tone of despair
• e.g. Sibilance is frequently used - “silence and tears” “sorrow to this” - use of phonetics creates an uncomfortable sound for the listening to demonstrate speaker’s dis comfort
• Tone is perpetuated by Byron’s allusion to silence
• Regular ABABCDCD rhyme creates strict rhythm, implying things are being left unsaid by the speaker - adds to listener’s sense of speaker’s anguish

Question 41

Describe the use of language about the senses

Answer 41

• It contrasts normal love poetry’s pleasing imagery through negative descriptions such as the lover’s “cold” cheek, the cold touch of “dew” and the sound of a funeral “knell” in order to demonstrate how he feels like he’s lost love and is hurt by it.

Question 42

Describe the use of language about silence and secrecy

Answer 42

• The use of silence in the poem is to show how their relationship was secret, the narrator and his lover were silent when they parted and he stays silent about it now.
• This contrasts how his friends talk about his ex-lover, unknowingly, and shows the reader that he feels that he’s unable to express how he feels.

Question 43

How are feelings/attitudes of grief displayed in the poem?

Answer 43

• The narrator mourns the end of the relationship as though it’s a death

Question 44

How are feelings/attitudes of anger displayed in the poem?

Answer 44

• The narrator seems angry that his lover has broken promises and is having affairs with other men
• He imagines greeting her with silence and tears, suggesting he wants her to see how much she’s hurt him

Question 45

How are feelings/attitudes of regret displayed in the poem?

Answer 45

• He regrets their relationship because of the way things turned out - he suffered alot

Question 46

Describe the tone of the poem

Answer 46

• Narrator has an angry and bitter tone in the poem
• His Suffering

Question 47

Themes:

Answer 47

• Pain, Loss, Death
• Anger
• Heartbreak
• Regret

Question 48

Quotes which show pain, loss, or death

Answer 48

• “When we two parted, in silence and tears”
• “They name thee before me, a knell in my ear”

Question 49

Quotes which show anger

Answer 49

• “Thy vows are all broken and light is thy name”
  Metaphorically got ‘married’ and she ‘divorced’ him and broke their ‘vows’ ( his life)

Question 50

Quote which show secrecy, forbidden love

Answer 50

• “In secret, we met, in silence and tears”

Question 51

Quotes which show regret

Answer 51

• “It felt like the warning”
  He knew that something bad would happen

Question 52

Compare With:

Answer 52

• Neutral Tones
• Winter Swans
• Farmer’s Bride
• Porphyria’s Lover

Question 53

Compare With: Neutral Tones

Answer 53

• Loss of a relationship
• Both narrators are reflecting
• Believe their partner was deceiving
• Cyclical Structure, Unable to go forward
• Reference to death

Question 54

Compare With: Winter Swans

Answer 54

• The relationship was torn apart
• Pathetic Fallacy, weather changes with mood
• Death Of Relationship

Question 55

Compare With: Porphyria’s Lover

Answer 55

• The women have the power and dominance ( rich)
• Relationships can’t be ( status)
• Death Of Relationships
• Men want women more than the women want the men

Question 56

What are the similarities and differences between When We Two Parted and Porphyria’s Lover?

Answer 56

SIMILARITIES
In “Porphyria’s lover”, Browning makes explicit references to death in “Three times her her little throat around, // And strangled her”. In “When we two parted”, Byron makes more implicit references to death to compare his relationship to it in the auditory imagery in “A knell in mine ear”.
DIFFERENCES
* In “Porphyria’s lover”, the speaker describes his lover’s body in a way which makes her seem alive in the metaphor “Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.” and “The smiling rosy little head”. The opposite is true in “When we two parted”, in which something living (his love) is made to seem physically dead. Byron does so through his use of lexis from the semantic field of death in “Pale grew thy cheek”, “In silence I grieve” and “foretold // sorrow to this”.

Question 57

What are the similarities and differences between When We Two Parted and Neutral Tones?

Answer 57

SIMILARITIES
* Both speakers use morbid references to express their sadness. Byron does so through his use of auditory imagery in “A knell to mine ear” and the lack of in “In silence I grieve”. Hardy similarly uses the metaphors “The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing” and “Alive enough to have strength to die”.
* The speaker’s sadness is further shown through the poet’s use of phonetics. Byron uses sibilance in “share in its shame” and “silence and tears” whilst Hardy uses the same technique in “bitterness swept thereby” and “keen lessons that love deceives”. DIFFERENCES
* In “Neutral tones”, the speaker’s dejection is reflected in his negative description of his surroundings. Natural imagery usually has positive connotations however, here this is subverted in the syndetic listing in “Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree, // And a pond edged with greyish leaves.”. Opposingly, in “When we two parted”, the speaker reflects on his internalised feelings in “In silence I grieve”