WW2P

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

• Byron was a hugely popular Romantic poet
• Doesn’t fit idea of romantic poetry perfectly
• Originally lied about date of writing, he said it was written in 1808 but was actually written 5 years later
• Byron did this in an attempt to hide the fact that the poem was written about affair with Lady Frances Webster

Question 2

The poem is an accentuated verse

Answer 2

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Question 3

Form

Answer 3

• The poem follows the beginning of the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet
• It falls out of the rhyme scheme on the line ‘thy vows are all broken’
• Previous line ends in a full stop
• The full stop is the first one placed mid stanza
• The sudden break from the rhyme scheme could be used by the poet to suggest that the poet felt that the two did have a true loving relationship worthy of the sonnet form before he heard of the latest infidelity.
• The use of the present tense in ‘thy vows are al broken’ marks a shift from the past tense which preceded it.
• This shift in tense backs up the idea that things have changed with this latest information.
• It seems more likely the poet thought fondly of his lover until he heard, at the time of writing, of her latest infidelity.
• Then perhaps felt cheated on and so his feeling of perfect sonnet form love disappeared.
• The full stop could also symbolize a stop to his feelings

Question 4

The poem is full of sensory imagery such as

Answer 4

• ‘colder ,’knell’ and ‘shudder’
• Perhaps this is way of Byron’s way of pointing out that the relationship was about sensory pleasure, not overly serious
• Based on physicality and sexual intimacy