When We Two Parted

Question 1

What are acentual verses?

Answer 1

Verses where each line has the same amount of stressed syllables

Question 2

When are the accentual verses broken, what does this tell us?

Answer 2

‘Pale grew thy cheeks and cold’
This line is the point where he realised their love wasn’t going to last, the breaking of the accentual verse shows how his feelings are being broken

Question 3

The beginning line

Answer 3

‘When we two parted in silence and tears, half broken-hearted, to sever for years’

Question 4

Quote suggesting that his friends gossiping would emotionally kill him

Answer 4

‘They name thee before me, a knell in mine ear’

Question 5

2 ways the poet shows how he thinks his pain will last forever

Answer 5

• the tense changing from past, to present, to future

- the cyclical structure : the poem starts and ends with ‘in silence and tears’

Question 6

The weather having an effect on his mood

Answer 6

‘The dew of the morning sunk chill on my brow’