When we two parted Flashcards
Context 1
- Poet
- Time period
- General overview of poem
- Written by Lord Byron
- Written in 1808, published 1816
- Byron was a prominent figures of the Romantic movement in English literature
- Poem is about the end of a romantic affair(may have been secret and forbidden)
- Overall mood of poem is bitter and melancholic
What are the two relevant themes of this poem relating to its context?
- Pain and Loss
- Secrecy
Describe the context of pain and loss in this poem and wider?
- Romanticism movement focused on individual experience and spirituality as well as celebration of isolation and melancholy.
- Byron, pioneer of this movement focused on nature, emotion and love
- Poem focuses on inner emotional turmoil and speaker’s inability to move forward in life.
Describe the context of secrecy in this poem and wider?
- Respectability was a big aspect of Victorian society
- Restraint on desire and emotions were expected, as well as high standards of gentlemen acting in dignified manner
- Led to men acting dignified in public but different behaviours in secret
- Secret and forbidden affair theme explored in poem
Form and Structure…
- 4 stanzas, 8 lines each
- ABAB rhyme scheme, reflective back and forth of narrators emotional conflict of relationship
- Inconsistent meter giving the poem a sense of awkwardness and hesitation
- Inconsistent rhythm mirrors how narrator emotional stability about break up and heartbreak of the ending of a love in secrecy.
- Lines being irregular length gives poem conversational tone and adds authenticity to narrators sadness.
Poem Analysis
L1 - L4:
“When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,”
- ‘we’ = addressing former lover directly, makes it more personal
- ‘In silence’ cannot express grief of ending of relationship due to its secrecy.
- ‘sever’ creates a sense of violence, emotional trauma is created due to separation.
Poem Analysis:
Lines 5-8
“Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.”
- through symbols of death (paleness and coldness) women’s fading love and passion is shown
- ‘foretold’ partner’s cold behaviour foreshadowed the end of their relationship
- Repetition of hard ‘K’ reflects woman’s coldness
- Enjambment (no punctuation) between line 7 and 8 emphasises that his sorrow is ongoing between past into present
Poem Analysis:
Lines 9-12
“The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow—
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.”
- narrator feels coldness from his partner.
- narrator changes tense from past to present while emphasising how woman’s distant nature predicted the end of the relationship.
Poem analysis:
Lines 13-16
“Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.”
- narrator suggest woman cheated on him
- her vows of loved to him are broken, she played big role in end of relationship
- ‘share in its shame’ narrator is embarrassed to say woman’s name due to her damaged reputation
- Also narrator ashamed for not satisfying her, double meaning
Poem analysis:
Lines 17-20
“They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o’er me
Why wert thou so dear?”
-‘Knell’ = ringing of bell at funeral service, relationship is dead
- Rhetorical question shows how deeply he cared for her, internally forever thinking about her, question remain unanswered stuck in his own isolation
Poem analysis:
Lines 29-32
“If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee? -
With silence and tears.”
- Repetition in ending and beginning of poem showing how his feelings and emotions remain. (the pain of the separation would have a long lasting impact on him.
Language theme bitterness:
- vivid imagery to convey narrators emotions towards women
1. Forceful verb ‘server’ (let go of woman and emotions)
2. Harsh sounds of ‘colder’ and ‘kiss’ imply bitterness of separation
Language theme loss:
- Poem shifts though past, present and future,
- Reptation of ‘silence of tears’ unable to move on, cyclical
- multiple symbols of death and loss ‘grieve’ ‘knell’ ‘pale’ ‘sever’ (mourning the loss of the relationship)
- foreshadowing of ending of relationship used ‘foretold’ ‘warning’
Language theme secrecy:
There is a sharp contrast between the silence of the couple and the gossiping voices of others
Possible comparison:
Neutral Tones
