When We Two Parted - Byron Flashcards
1
Q
Summary
(5 things)
A
- Looking back at end of illicit relationship
- Recalls sorrow of parting, coldness of lover, sense of foreboding as left
- Speaker has secret sense of guilt because lover is object of gossip
- Regrets affair, not understand why lover was important
- Mourns her faithlessness, if met again would meet “in silence and tears” as when they parted
2
Q
Main Themes
(5 things)
A
- illicit love
- separation
- unfaithfulness
- regret
- foreboding
3
Q
Key Aspects
(4 things)
A
- Lyric poem from romantic period
- told in first person, addressed to ex-lover
- Images evoke intensity of feeling
- Four octaves with regular rhyme scheme
4
Q
Key Setting
(4 things)
A
- No specific setting - only time: early morning when “dew” had fallen
- Time shifts:
- Moment of parting (stanzas 1 and 2)
- Stanza 2 - shift to present when realise rumours about lover - “They name me before thee”
- Future - Imagine if he and lover “should meet” again
- Lack of setting heightens secrecy and stresses intensity of feeling (focus is on inner feelings not external world)
- Intensity of feeling key aspect of Romantic poetry
5
Q
Key Repetition
(4 things)
A
- Part in “silence and tears” at start of poem
- Create a circular effect by repeating at end of poem when imagine meeting again.
- Draws reader back to the beginning of the poem and to the poems title and opening line, “When we two parted”
- Suggests that poet will never be free of intense feelings created by parting
6
Q
Irony
(2 things)
A
- 3rd Stanza - lovers name mentioned at a social gathering
- Those at gathering not aware that speaker not only knew her - They knew not I knew thee”, tbut hat he was her lover - he knew her “too well”.
7
Q
Foreshadowing / Foreboding
(2 things)
A
- Parting “foretold Sorrow” Stanza 1
- Dew “felt like a warning”
8
Q
Imagery of decline, death
(2 things)
A
- “pale grew thy cheek”
- “knell in my ear” - metaphor of funeral bell
9
Q
Form and Structure
(2 things)
A
- Four octaves and regular rhyme (ABAB) reinforce repetition
- Two stressed syllables in every line - reminiscent of chant or lament
10
Q
Secrecy and Deception
(3 things)
A
- “Thy vows are all broken”
- “Thy spirit deceive” - hushed sibilant sound reflects illicit relationship
- Grieve in “silence”, part in “tears and silence”
11
Q
“Half broken-hearted”
(2 things)
A
- Half means only one of the two is broken hearted?
- Or does it mean the writer shamed and guilty rather than greatly broken hearted (later says “why wert thou so dear” as though no longer has feelings of love, only regret and guilt
12
Q
Repetition
(5 things)
A
- Four octaves and regular rhyme (ABAB)
- Two stressed syllables in each line
- Close repetition of words, “cold, colder thy kiss”, “knew” in stanza 3; “Long, long shall I rue thee”, “after long years”
- Alliteration - secret, silence, spirit deceive
- Effect - implies poet cannot forget feelings, circularity and repetition reflects how poet keeps returning to the thoughts and feelings.
13
Q
Breakdown and Betrayal
(4 things)
A
- “Thy vows are all broken” - promises to speaker, or wedding wows betrayed by relationship to speaker, or both
- Sense of betrayal means now asks, “Why wert thou so dear?”
- Asks also, “How should I greet thee?” if met again and answers “In silence and tears”
- Intense feeling is of regret and bitterness at betrayal rather than loss of love; or shared guilt that renders both silent
14
Q
Time and Memory
(2 things)
A
- Time shifts in poem from past (moment of parting) present (current feelings of regret, shame) and imagined future (if we met again)
- Suggests that intense feelings will always remain
15
Q
Context
(3 things)
A
- Romantic poet - intensity of feeling
- Altered publication date to protect Lady Frances Wedderburn Webster
- Keeps identity of lover secret “They know not I knew thee”.
