Partings Flashcards
UMBRELLA SENTENCE
Umbrella sentence: Whilst ‘Walking Away’ deals with a father’s pain at parting from his son, ‘When We Two parted’ describes the pain of a romantic parting.
TS1
TS1: In both poems, the speakers recall memories of the pain of parting, which still haunts them.
TS2
TS2: Both poets use vivid imagery to describe their feelings about parting from loved ones.
TS3
TS3: However, whilst Byron’s speaker still feels distress, Day-Lewis’ speaker becomes philosophical about the parting.
STRUCTURE
Whilst ‘When We Two Parted’ has a cyclical structure that reflects the speaker’s inability to move on emotionally from the painful experience, ‘Walking Away’ uses line breaks and enjambment to reflect the need for the son to part from his father to become independent.
‘Pale grew thy cheek and cold/Colder thy kiss’ WHEN WE TWO PARTED
L = the comparative adjective intensifies her emotionally cold feelings for him, suggesting that her love for him has died.
‘eighteen years ago…I can see/you walking away’ WALKING AWAY
L= present tense even though in past – memory still vivid and painful. Structure: line break separates pronouns - emphasizes son parting from father. Direct address to son – suggests feelings unresolved in speaker.
‘A knell to mine ear…long, long shall I rue thee’ WHEN WE TWO PARTED
L = metaphor. Hearing her name is like a death knell, reminding him of the death of their relationship. L= repetition and assonance of ‘long’ emphasizes long-lasting nature of his regret at loving her.
‘Gnaws at my mind still’. WALKING AWAY
L = powerful verb suggests ongoing pain and guilt at leaving his parting from his son. Caesura emphasizes impact of parting. R = sympathy for father’s pain. C = Day Lewis dedicated the poem to his son Sean; he divorced Sean’s mother and left the family home. D = on a deeper level, about his guilt at leaving the family, not just leaving his son at boarding school.
‘eddying…like a winged seed loosed from its parent stem’ WALKING AWAY
L = simile. A seed (child) must become independent from its parent if it is to grow. Verb ‘eddying’ suggests child is vulnerable; no clear direction. Must find its own path.
‘like a satellite wrenched from its orbit’ WALKING AWAY
L = simile. Verb = painful. Not ready for parting. Son’s life’s revolved around him.
‘pathos of a half-fledged thing’ WALKING AWAY
L= emotive metaphor. Son = vulnerable. Not ready to become independent. R = pity for him.
‘I hear thy name spoken/And share in its shame’ WHEN WE TWO PARTED
L = alliteration and hissing sibilance emphasizes his shame at hearing her name and in having an affair with her. C = Subject of poem = Frances Webster, a married woman with whom Byron had an affair. Despite the fact Byron had many affairs, as a woman in a patriarchal society, she is judged more harshly for her behaviour.
‘Drifting away/ behind a scatter of boys’ WALKING AWAY
enjambment across line break emphasizes son’s growing independence as he moves away from his father but also his father’s desire to hold on to him (there is no end stopped line)
‘silence and tears’ WHEN WE TWO PARTED
is repeated at beginning and ending of poem. Structurally, this emphasizes his inability to move on from their parting emotionally.