INTRODUCTION
When we two
parted
is a poem of George Gordon
Byron written in 1808 and published in 1813 in The poetical works of Lord Byron.
Byron was a romantic poet, his writings develops
a Romantic style as distinctive and as influential as Wordsworths works, one of
the most representative romantic writers. Byrons romantic subjectivity defines itself in spectacular terms, this subjectivity
has been criticized as too theatrical by John Keats. But
for other poets like Baudelaire,
that theatrical style defined Byrons
greatness as a lyric poet. (1)
Lord Byron
has a wonderful collection of poetic works,
he started writing in 1806 to his death in 1824. Through this years
he made a lot of famous works such
as Child Harolds Pilgrimage, Don Juan or Manfred. The main characteristic of Byrons poems is its strenght and
masculinity, combined in a lot of cases with
irony. In the case of the poem
I have choosen, When we two parted is a poem of
heart broken, expressing strong feelings in a simple but full of meaning vocabulary,
such as in other poems like So well no go more
a roving.(2)
STRUCTURE
The poem is divided in four
stanzas and each one in eight
verses. The rhyme used by Byron follows
this structure: abab cdcd efef
ghgh ijij klkl mnmn kbkb. Separating each stanza in four verses, we have the
rhyme more clear, each even verse and each odd
verse rhyme with its equivalent even or odd
verse. This structure gives to the
poem a lot of rythm, giving
the sensation of musicality.
RHETORICAL
FIGURES
In this
poem it is
too difficult to find rhetorical figures, due to the
most important of all the
poem is the
strength of the words. Despite
of this, it can be seen, for example, in the third line
a metaphor: half broken-hearted; the poet is
expressing us how he and his lover
feel when they are two parted.
Another striking thing found in the poem is
the second part of the
fourth stanza. It is the
only stanza which repeats the
rhyme of other verses and not just the rhyme, but the
word itself. E.g. (4) To sever
for years/ (30)After long years.
If we pay attention, there is also
a correspondence of meaning, in the first stanza Byron
is telling they are going to sever for
years and in the last stanza
he is thinking of what he will
do when they remeet. With the
other two verses is the same,
at the first
part: (2)In silence and
tears is how they react when
they are two parted, and in the last part
of the poem: (32)With silence and tears
is how he is going to have
to greet her since they
did not meet.
COMMENTARY
The poem, as I said before, is
divided in four stanzas, and each
stanza talks about different visions of this
love separation.
On the whole, the poem
is all the
time giving the feeling of the
pain that the poet has due
to the separation
of the two
lovers; what we cannot know is if the
separation is because of death
or maybe because she split
up with him.
In the
first stanza the poet begins with
the main topic, remembering the separation of the two
lovers, how they felt: half broken-hearted , showing
his pain. Also he expresses the idea of what
we think that this separation
is due to
the death of his lover
with the metaphor of : Pale grew thy cheek and
cold,/colder thy kiss. All that sorrounds her is cold, and
this cold is a perfect form to
express the death in contrast with the warm
involving the life.
Following with the poem, in the
second stanza it can be found the relation of
colder morning with the pain
that the poet is feeling.
Also another time we can see that
his lover is dead: thy vows are all broken. Then, it follow
with the shame that feels
the poet when he hears her
name; maybe shame because their
relation was a sin. This idea will be developed later with some comments
of people that she was
a married woman.
The third stanza contains strong vocabulary showing again that
she is dead: A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes oer me.These two verses remain to the sounds
of the bells
of a funeral, using the appropriated word Knell. Also
he asked himself why he loved her
so, and people who knew her
well do not know any relation between
them. Maybe that people who
knew her well could be her
family and husband.
At the last stanza the poet is remembering
when they met and transmits
us a feeling of hope: If I should meet thee. Maybe life exists
before death and they can reopen
their love, and the poet
also tell us how they greet:
With silence and tears.
Some researches say that the
person who was addressed this
poem is Lady Frances Webster (married woman) and a last stanza
was left out to keep the
identity of the woman a secret.
It was discover
when Byron wrote a letter to his cousin
Lady Hardy giving her of the
last stanza:
Then --- fare thee
well ---
Fanny ---
Now doubly undone ---
To prove false unto many ---
As faithless to One ---
Thou art past all recalling
Even would I recall ---
For the woman once falling
Forever must fall.
(3)
RELATION OF THE POEM WITH THE
HISTORICAL MOMENT
When we
two parted is included
in the historical movement of Romanticism
which is an artistic,
literary, and intellectual movement that originated around the middle of the 18th century
in Western
Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution.(4)
[1]During the 19th
century Britain was transformed by the Industrial Revelution. Maybe this poem
has nothing of realtion with these transformations, but if we consider that in
these times people had to work a lot and maybe the husband of Lady Webster spent a lot of time doing business, she
probably had more freedom and she felt alone and the solution was to find a
lover.
Moreover,
unfaithfulness is a topic of all the times and the separation of two lovers due
to death or for something else happens then, now and after. For that reason we
can consider that this poem of pain is a poem for all the times.
RELATION OF THE POEM WITH TODAY
As
I said before, this poem perfectly can be described for people of nowadays, due
to Byron expresses wonderfully what people feel when the person they love
splits up with them or dies. This is a feeling of all the epochs and centuries,
the loneliness and pain provoked by the missing of the person who loves.
The
poet has also a relation with today, Byron has returned as a figure of great consequence,
this is an historical fate to be welcomed. Now he is more appreciated than in
his times, because unless in his time he was famous, he was perjudicated by his
type of life, having problems with alcohol and women. But now he was recognised
as one of the most representative writers of the Romanticism.
[1] Cambridge Companion. Byron.2004. Cambridge. Cambridege University Press.
2 George Gordon Lord Byron. 6th Baron Byron.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gordon_Byron_6th_Baron_Byron
3 When whe two parted by Lord Byron
http://readytogoebooks.com/LB-WTP-P57.html
4 Romanticism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cambridge Companion. Byron.2004.
Cambridge. Cambridege University Press.
George Gordon Lord Byron.
6th Baron Byron.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gordon_Byron_6th_Baron_Byron
When whe two parted by Lord Byron
http://readytogoebooks.com/LB-WTP-P57.html
Romanticism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism
Byronism
George Gordon, Lord Byron
http://engphil.astate.edu/gallery/byron.html
George Gordon (Lord) Byron:
Bibliography
http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/byron_george_gordon_bibliography.html
Lord Byron: Table
of contents
http://englishhistory.net/byron/contents.html
Byron When we two parted
http://www.bartleby.com/101/597.html