When We Two Parted Flashcards
Context:
> Byron was a notorious Romantic poet who was frequently embroiled in public scandals.
After apparently having an illegitimate child with his half sister,he married
Annabella Milbanke.
They soon Split up and after this Byron was engaged in shameful activities.
Byron had controversial love and this poem is thought to be written about one of his public affairs
‘Pale’ and ‘cold’
> The imagery of a ‘pale’ cheek and ‘cold’ kiss has death-like connotations, implying that the speaker is mourning the death of the relationship.
Byron also shows the physical impact of the character’s sadness.
“silence and tears” and “sorrow to this”.
> Byron’s use of language in the poem creates a tone of despair. Sibilance is frequently used throughout the poem and is heard in “silence and tears” and “sorrow to this”.
This use of phonetics creates an uncomfortable sound for the listener to demonstrate the speaker’s discomfort.
Themes:
Anger
‘Sever’ shows the parting was painful and traumatic.The Speakers feels angry towards his lover because of her betrayal.The damage caused by the breakup was permanent forever and it will never stop constantly tormenting him.He feels this has caused him too much agony that he is unable to progress and have further relationships because ‘after long years’ he still will think about her.
’In silence I grieve’
Themes:Secrecy
Speaker uses the adjective ‘silence’,to show that their relationship was illicit,he couldn’t express his feelings of sorrow and grief to anyone.May have felt the relationship to be not real.No-one knows about his relationship so he can’t share his pain which perhaps may lead to him having a trauma.
Structure:
Rhyme Scheme-ABAB CDCD
The repetivity of the rhyme scheme suggest that the speaker’s pain is endless,this has a sympathetic effect on the readers.
Structure:
Line Lengths-
The line lengths are irregular emphasising the speaker’s relationship as a uncomfortable and not smooth.
