When We two parted : Poem

Hello Readers! 

Hello friends welcome to my blog. This is very interesting blog on the poem "When we two parted" written by Lord Byron. Poet express his feelings when he parted from his beloved. Let's we look this poem in detail. 

Introduction

Lord Byron achieved tremendous popularity as a poet in his short life. As a poet he has written many poems like...

1. Child Harold's Pilgrimage

2. The Prisoner of chill-on

3. Don Juan

4. When we two Parted. etc....

'When we two parted' was written in 1808. This poem refers to one of poet's earlier lady loves. This poem is about the feeling of poet when they parted with each other. Let us discuss this poem in detail.

Theme of the poem

The Title of the poem 'When we two parted' itself suggests, the theme of 'Separation'. Apart from love, poet has focused on the moment when they separated with each other. In this poem poet has described his experience of life after the parted of beloved. He also shows that after the pared  of beloved his life become painful. 

It means the theme of the poem shows painful life of a person whose beloved is parted from him.

Analysis of the poem

When We Two Parted

George Gordon Byron - 1788-1824

• 

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--
Long, long shall I rue thee,
   Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met--
   In 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.

The poem 'When we two parted' is divided into four stanza . The first stanza begins with the line...

"When we two parted

In silence the tears,

Half broken-hearted

To server for years."

The above line shows the moment from which a poet has to depart from his beloved. The word like 'tears' and 'silence' show the  sorrowful moment of life. While the word "half broken-hearted shows that the heart is broken and it is not recovered for many years. He also says that there is no charm in her cheek and kiss. Her kiss become colder and cold means it loses it's warms. It means there is no feeling of love at the time of departure.

Second stanza

In the second stanza the poet has described the feeling of soft morning. The word 'dew' shows unpleasant atmosphere of life. According to the poet....

"They vows are all broken

And light is they fame,

I hear they name spoken

And share in its shame".

It means his beloved has broken all the promise and there was no value of love for her. The poet also writes their fame become light day by day. The poet feels shame when her name is spoken.

Third stanza

In the third stanza poets writes..

"They name thee before me ,

A knell to mine ear,

..........long long shall I rue thee

Too deeply to tell".

Here, poet says that when the people took her name before me it made me trouble. It also creates vibration in his body because of sadness. Poet also says that why the people took his name with her without knowing anything. It shows the poet's pain in his heart because of his beloved.

Fourth stanza

In the fourth stanza the poet writes that he can't express his sorrow openly when they meet in secret. He also writes that he felt pain in silence but his beloved has forgotten him entirely. The poet says...

"If I should meet thee,

After long years,

How should I greet thee?

With silence and tears".

Here, one question aroused in poet's mind that if they should meet after long time how should he react with her? Poet himself gives the answer that he treats her with silence and tears. It shows poet's painful life after the departure of his beloved. 

Style of writing

As for style is concerned, port has used nicely all the levels. In phonological level (the level of sound) the poet has used rhyme scheme AB, AB, CD, CD in all the stanza. He has also used alliteration and rhyming words. The poet has also used the grammatical pattern like pronoun, verbs and and also many simple words. So that the reader can easily read and understand the meaning of this poem.

Conclusion


The poem 'When we two parted' is an autobiographical poem of Lord Byron. In this poem the poet has expressed his lamentation of  departure. He has narrated his experience of painful life after the departure with his beloved. The poet has also used phonological level, grammar and also the meaning of this poem.

Thank You!