When we two parted - Lord Byron

Leading figure in the Romantic Movement

Regarded as one of the greatest British poets and is still an influential figure today

Regarded as a National hero by the Greeks

Also travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in Greek War of Independence

Was celebrated in life for a number of aristocratic excesses

These included debts, numerous love affairs, self-imposed exile and rumours of an incestual connection with his half-sister

By Banke, Yazmin and Danny

Lord Byron (1788-1824)

WHEN we two parted In silence and tears, Half broken-hearted To sever for years,

In this stanza Byron addresses the effects breaking up with a loved one has on him.

‘When’ -Referring to the past/Reminiscing the departure of a loved one.

At the time that they split he was in 'In silence and in tears' but from 'to sever for years' it can be be assumed that not much has changed in his emotions from that moment as he is speaking retrospectively about how he has been scarred from them to the present time:

'truly that hour told sorrow to this'

b

Half broken hearted. This may reffer to the fact they are one 'heart' but only one half's broken/in despair presumably his half. Further suggesting she's the one leaving him and the break up is not mutual.

The dew of the morning

Sunk chill on my brow--

It felt like the warning

Of what I feel now.

The bleak tone from the first stanza is carried into the second stanza and manifested in the weather. The imagery of coldness is also carried over with the chilly dew on Byron’s brow B

Reflecting back on the morning of the break up, weather for shadowing the break up. Some may also suggest that the bleakness of nature may also represent the romantic era falling into unknown darkness (e.g. science). Y

Thy vows are all broken,

And light is thy fame:

I hear thy name spoken,

And share in its shame.

'Thy vows are all broken' Highlights his lovers infidelity a possible reason for their break up. They may have been married or in a relationship that involved to some level, long term commitment. Further demonstrates that hes not infatuated but he's feelings are genuine. 'All' lays she has completely done him wrong yet she doesn't feel guilty ('light is thy fame') B

Some may interpret the line ‘I hear thy name spoken’ and suggest that this may represent time, as he has trapped this memory in is mind. Some may further suggest that this could be an intertextual reference to Hardy, where Hardy reminisces back to the happy and sad memories of the past. Some may suggest that this takes a negative view on life, as it seems that he can’t move on. Y

They know not I knew thee,

Who knew thee too well:

He knew that this happiness wouldn't have last, shows bitterness and his pessimistic view on life. Just like nature everything has its time limits, in regard to love. (e.g. when a flower blossoms and rots)

In this stanza the girl is talking to him, in his mind. y

Long, long shall I rue thee,

Too deeply to tell.

He regrets having the relationship because he’s constantly reminder it which only reiterates his pain everytime. 'long long' repetition signifies that the regret is eternal.

When we two parted

Even though this poem is centered around his hurt he claims that cannot words cannot express his emotions because has been cut 'too deep' b

In secret we met--

In silence I grieve,

That thy heart could forget,

Thy spirit deceive.

Their marriage/relationship was secret, or it was initiated in secret, there was some me kind of mutuality 'we'.

Ultimately however he grieves by himself, illustrates his loneliness/isolation and elicits sympathy from the reader.

B

He is bitter; she’s moved on and he’s still stuck in misery and yearning for them to be back together

I should meet thee

After long years,

How should I greet thee?

With silence and tears.

His pain will not diminish, nor his sense of being wronged by her actions, even after many years.

The repetition of 'silence and tears' at the beginning and end of the poem denotes the poet’s inability to leave his moment of pain behind. He is trapped in a state of grieving a lost love.

B

WHEN we two parted

In silence and tears,

Half broken-hearted

To sever for years,

Pale grew thy cheek and cold,

Colder thy kiss;

Truly that hour foretold

Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning

Sunk chill on my brow--

It felt like the warning

Of what I feel now.

Thy vows are all broken,

And light is thy fame:

I hear thy name spoken,

And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,

A knell to mine ear;

A shudder comes o'er me--

Why wert thou so dear?

They know not I knew thee,

Who knew thee too well:

Lond, long shall I rue thee,

Too deeply to tell.

I secret we met--

I silence I grieve,

That thy heart could forget,

Thy spirit deceive.

If I should meet thee

After long years,

How should I greet thee?

With silence and tears.

What its about

D

The narrator recalls the moment that the relationship with his former lover ended. The poem could be addressing the unfortunate split with his wife whereby she left him the year they were married.

Pale grew thy cheek and cold,

Colder thy kiss;

Truly that hour foretold

Sorrow to this.

Some readers may interpret this part of the stanza and suggest that the characteristics display the emotions of a break up to be equivalent to a dead person. This further suggests that Byron is pessimistic about life, as life is meaningless without love. y

Upon parting his former lover becomes cold which could be a change foreshadowing later sorrow which is taking place as the poet writes. b

Form and Structure

• It is a lyric poem
• It's made up of four octets,
• Each octet has a rhyme scheme ABABCDCD.
• The concept at the end of each of the first three stanzas is continued into the first two lines of the following stanza, this links the poem’s content together even though its broken up into stanzas.
• This unifies the author’s sense of sorrow at the loss of his beloved

D

'Colder thy kiss' could be argued to be a oxymoron. Kiss is associated with love, romance and compassion, where as 'colder' represents an emotionless state. She is, perhaps, feeling less and less compassion for him and growing more detached from him which leads to his 'sorrow'.

Brief summary

The first stanza sets up the break up between him and his beloved, which for him is emotional and has left him full of sorrow that is felt even as the poet writes

The second stanza lays emphasis on this, and perhaps to an extent betrayed. His/her departure has lead to his shame

The third stanza her name is used to signify the value that he she has to him. He questions the reason behind his love for him/her and concludes that he regrets losing him/her.

D

The fourth stanza is a reflection on their relationship, from the moment they mat to the present time. He expresses his feelings of betrayal because she/he has forgotten and deceived him. He ultimately concludes that if he were to meet with his former love again he wouldn’t be able to do any other but express his despair.

The dew of the morning

Sunk chill on my brow

It felt like the warning

Of what I feel now.

'dew...morning', nature imagery suggests that his happiness/love/their relationship was never going to last just as dew is temporary. also highlights the temporary nature of love

Alternatively just as the misty morning will become clear in due time, Byron will also have a fresh start.Y

'the sunk chill..felt like a warning'

He would be left unloved, needing the warmth and comfort of his lover

May also mean that he too is growing a tad detached from him/her due to the lack of him/her presence B

They name thee before me,

A knell to mine ear;

Her name is a sharp reminder, that cannot be ignored. It could represent what they had and what he has lost. 'Knell' – heavy bell, like a church bell tolling at a funeral, loud sound. Comparing it to her name could suggest it attracts his full attention but consequently brings pain; her name is connoted with his loss and the pain that comes with it.

A shudder comes o'er me—

Why wert thou so dear?

B

'Shudder' – evokes image of him shaking off the memory in regret or perhaps in pain. Goes on to question his love – bitter?

He may be questioning himself or the reader about his own love for her, or questioning why others hold her in such high esteem.

That thy heart could forget,

Thy spirit deceive

His heart could move on but in his mind she lives on, within time. She will always be there to remind him that he has deceived their love, in regards to braking up.

Y

If I should meet thee

After long years,

How should I greet thee?

With silence and tears

''There's a ghost at Yell 'ham Bottom chiding loud at the fall of the night,

There's a ghost in Froom-side Vale, thin lipped and vague, in a

shroud of white,

There is one in the railway-train whenever I do not want it near,

I see its profile against the pane, saying what I would not hear.''

Doubting tone ‘If’, reminiscing to the future, doubting tone suggest that he wants to correct all the wrongs, inter textual references to Wessex Height. Questioning how he should greet her, after deceiving her.

''I cannot go to the tall-spired town, being barred by the forms now

passed''

'With silence and tears': Questioning tone throughout the narrative poem, seems to be questioning the existences of love.

Y