When We Two Parted Flashcards
Who wrote When We Two Parted?
Lord Byron
When was When We Two Parted published?
1816
What is When We Two Parted about?
The speaker states that they have separated with a lover and are upset about it. He expresses the imapct of the separation on him. The speaker then says how the relationship was a secret so none of his friends know of the suffering he is enduring.
Who is the poet’s lover rumoured to be?
Lady Frances Webster, a married woman with whom Byronhad a flirtation
What are the key themes in When We Two Parted?
- Death
- Loss
- Memory
- Separation
What is the structure and form of When We Two Parted?
The poem is made up of four octaves with a strong ABABCDCD rhyme scheme and regular rhythm - emphasises certain syllables which highlights the speaker’s pain.
What do the stressed syllables often fall on?
The stressed syllables often fall on words that build a picture of the poet’s feelings towards his love (silence, tears, half, heart)
What does the speaker attempt to mask with his structural formality?
His pain and bitterness
What are the four main language techniques Byron uses?
- Assonance (thee, me)
- Repetition of key words (silence, cold, name, know, knew, long)
- Monosyllables (pale grew thy cheek and cold, and share in its shame, a knell in mine ear…)
- Semantic field of death (knell, grieve, pale grew thy cheek and cold, colder thy kiss)
How is the poem cyclical.
It begins and ends with ‘with silence and tears’ - shows that there was no progression, it’s repetitive and ongoing
QUOTES
First three lines of the poem
‘When we two parted
In silence and tears
Half broken-hearted’
What is significant about the second line of the play?
‘In silence and tears’ - ‘silence’ hints to a secret relationship
What is significant about the third line of the play?
‘Half broken-hearted’ - shows the relationship is one-sided
What line in the play shows violent imagery?
‘To sever for years’ - relationship was forcibly cut
