GCSE English Literature

Shakespeare
13 Topics
Understanding Macbeth
Character Analysis of Macbeth
Character Relationships in Macbeth
The Context of Macbeth
Language and Dramatic Techniques in Macbeth
Themes, Motifs and Symbols in Macbeth
Understanding Romeo and Juliet
Character Analysis of Romeo and Juliet
Character Relationships in Romeo and Juliet
The Context of Romeo and Juliet
Language and Dramatic Techniques in Romeo and Juliet
Themes, Motifs and Symbols in Romeo and Juliet
Understanding the Tempest
19th Century Novels
20 Topics
Understanding The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Chapter 5-10 Summaries of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Character Analysis of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Themes in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Understanding A Christmas Carol
Character Analysis of A Christmas Carol
Themes in A Christmas Carol
Understanding Great Expectations
Great Expectations Character Analysis
Themes in Great Expectations
Understanding Jane Eyre
Character Analysis of Jane Eyre
Themes in Jane Eyre
Understanding Frankenstein
Character Analysis of Frankenstein
Themes in Frankenstein
Understanding Pride and Prejudice
Summary of Pride and Prejudice
Character Analysis of Pride and Prejudice
Themes in Pride and Prejudice
Drama
38 Topics
Understanding An Inspector Calls
Character Analysis of An Inspector Calls
Themes in An Inspector Calls
Understanding Blood Brothers
Act 1 Summary of Blood Brothers
Act 2 Summary of Blood Brothers
Twins Character Analysis of Blood Brothers
Supporting Characters Analysis of Blood Brothers
Themes in Blood Brothers
Motifs and Symbols in Blood Brothers
Understanding The History Boys
Act 1: Summary of The History Boys
Act 2: Summary of The History Boys
Character Analysis of The History Boys
Themes in The History Boys
Understanding The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Part One: Summary of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Part Two: Summary of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Primary Character Analysis of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Secondary Character Analysis of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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Prose
19 Topics
Primary Character Analysis of Animal Farm
Secondary Character Analysis of Animal Farm
Themes in Animal Farm
Symbols in Animal Farm
Understanding Animal Farm
Chapter Summaries of Animal Farm
Understanding Lord of the Flies
Chapter 1-6 Summary of Lord of the Flies
Chapter 7-12 Summary of Lord of the Flies
Primary Character Analysis of Lord of the Flies
Secondary Character Analysis of Lord of the Flies
Themes in Lord of the Flies
Symbols in Lord of the Flies
Chemistry – Telling Tales Analysis – AQA Anthology
Odour of Chrysanthemums – Telling Tales Analysis – AQA Anthology
My Polish Teacher’s Tie – Telling Tales Analysis – AQA Anthology
Korea – Telling Tales Analysis – AQA Anthology
A Family Supper – Telling Tales Analysis – AQA Anthology
Invisible Mass of the Back Row – Telling Tales Analysis – AQA Anthology
Poetry
30 Topics
The Farmer’s Bride: Love and Relationships Analysis
Eden Rock: Love and Relationships Analysis
Walking Away: Love and Relationships Analysis
Letters from Yorkshire: Love and Relationships Analysis
Follower: Love and Relationships Analysis
Mother, Any Distance: Love and Relationships Analysis
Love’s Philosophy: Love and Relationships Analysis
Neutral Tones: Love and Relationships Analysis
When We Two Parted: Love and Relationships Analysis
Porphyria’s Lover: Love and Relationships Analysis
Sonnet 29: Love and Relationships Analysis
Before You Were Mine: Love and Relationships Analysis
Winter Swans: Love and Relationships Analysis
Singh Song!: Love and Relationships Analysis
Climbing My Grandfather: Love and Relationships Analysis
Ozymandias: Power and Conflict Analysis
London: Power and Conflict Analysis
The Prelude – Stealing the Boat: Power and Conflict Analysis
My Last Duchess: Power and Conflict Analysis
The Charge of the Light Brigade: Power and Conflict Analysis
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When We Two Parted: Love and Relationships Analysis

GCSE English Literature Poetry When We Two Parted: Love and Relationships Analysis

Lord Byron’s poem expresses a secret romance, and sorrow at the loss of a relationship. The speaker reveals only being able to grieve alone since the love was not reciprocated. Because of this, some believe that the poem was inspired by Byron’s affair with Lady Frances Wedderburn Webster.

At the opening of the poem, the speaker tells us that they are upset, having separated from a lover. The speaker describes the impact of the parting like a death and then goes on to reveal that the romance was a secret, so his friends do not know the grief he is enduring.

Poem

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 in 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.

Lord Byron (1816)

Context

Lord Byron was notorious for his public scandals and was considered somewhat of a ‘celebrity’ at the time. He belonged to the Romantic era, a period when poets often wrote about nature and passion. It is rumoured that one of Byron’s scandals involved an illegitimate child being produced from a relationship he had with his half-sister. Following this, Byron married a woman called Annabella Milbanke. However, the marriage was short-lived, with Byron returning to his affairs and grappling with gambling debts.

Byron eventually moved to Geneva, where he spent time with the Shelleys (Mary – who wrote Frankenstein – and Percy Shelley) and Mary’s half-sister, Clairmont. Byron fathered a child with Clairmont, then travelled around Europe. Eventually, he died of a fever in what is now Greece.

Due to Byron’s influence, the concept of a ‘Byronic hero’ emerged. We use this term in literature to describe someone rejected by conventional societal norms and behaviour. A Byronic hero may be sexually attractive, self-destructive, an outsider, and someone who rejects authority.

Language

  • Violent or deathly connotations
  • Cold imagery
  • Sibilance
  • Alliteration
  • Collective pronouns
  • Allusion
  • Subjunctive ‘if’
  • Past tense

The poem is written from a first-person perspective and includes the collective pronoun “we” in the title and the opening line “when we two parted”. This immediately indicates to readers that this is a poem about a separation between two people and that there is sadness ahead. The force of separation seems to be expressed by the speaker explaining that his heart feels like it has been severed [“sever”], which is a verb expressing extreme emotion. The speaker observes that his lover’s demeanor changed, noting that she became “cold”

In the second stanza, more cold imagery is used – this time employing nature to foreshadow the speaker’s tears with Byron writing:

“The dew of the morning
Sank chill on my brow’”

The speaker plainly tells us of the marriage breakdown with “Thy vows are all broken”, and blame is further given to the other person when the speaker says:

“I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame”

The use of sibilance (repeated soft ‘s’ sounds) emphasises the public shame and makes the speaker sound bitter and upset.

In the third stanza, the speaker continues to reflect on the partner’s name, describing it as a “knell in mine ear”, which is an allusion to a funeral bell. Death imagery is further developed when the speaker describes feeling a “shudder” – as if the ghostly past of the relationship still haunts him. The poem feels like an internal monologue where the speaker is questioning the validity of the relationship.

The fourth stanza finally reveals that the relationship was a secret:

“In secret we met—
In silence I grieve”

The sibilance (repeated soft ‘s’ sounds) emphasises the softness and perhaps the whisper-like quality of the words. This can be associated with the poem’s themes of secrecy and silent grief.

The subjunctive “if” is used towards the end, showing that the speaker still has some hope of a future:

“If I should meet thee
After long years…”

Past tense “met” in the poem represents the loss of what used to happen, and the poem closes with the speaker questioning how they would meet the lover again: “How should I greet thee?—” However, the speaker answers their own interrogative (question) with the final line: “With silence and tears.” The full stop represents the finality of the emotion and the end of the relationship.

Structure

  • Cyclical structure
  • Four stanzas
  • Short lines

The poem uses a cyclical structure, meaning it ends in a similar way to the start. The line “in silence and in tears” is repeated at the opening and close of the poem, showing readers that the speaker continually feels this way and hasn’t yet escaped those feelings.

There are four stanzas in the poem, and each stanza contains short lines. It’s as if the speaker doesn’t have the energy or enthusiasm to discuss their feelings at length; they feel numbness and despair.

Form

The poem uses a type of verse called accentual verse or stressed verse, where there are a fixed number of ‘stressed beats’ per line. In When We Two Parted, Byron uses two stresses per line. For example, let’s look at the first eight lines:

1. When we two parted
2. In silence and tears
3. Half broken-hearted
4. To sever for years
5. Pale grew thy cheek and cold
6. Colder thy kiss
7. Truly that hour foretold
8. Sorrow to this

From the stressed syllables (in bold) and unstressed syllables, we can deduce the following:

  • In the poem, the rhythm is largely determined by two stressed syllables in almost every line. This pattern establishes a steady, heartbeat-like quality, emphasising the themes of love and separation.
  • Although most lines contain two stressed and three unstressed syllables, there are instances where Byron varies the number of unstressed syllables. For example, lines 6 and 8 contain only two unstressed syllables. This flexibility in the use of unstressed syllables, ranging between two to four (throughout the whole poem), shows Byron’s skill in maintaining rhythm while allowing for poetic variation.

In lines 1 to 8, two lines (lines 5 and 7) deviate from the pattern, carrying an extra stressed syllable. Why did Byron make this deviation? These lines touch on emotionally charged moments:

  • The startling transformation of the speaker’s beloved in line 5
  • A foreboding prophecy in line 7

By introducing an additional stressed beat, Byron emphasises the profound impact of these moments. It adds depth to the speaker’s trauma and gives the prophecy a more sinister tone.

The full rhyme scheme, ABABCDCD, also adds to the tight-knit sound of the poem, supporting the repetitive longing of the speaker’s feelings.

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