When We Two Parted by: George Gordon, Lord Byorn
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 name.
They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me-
Why wert thou so dear?
They know hot I knew thee,
Who knew thee to well-
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.
In secret we met-
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
They spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?-
With silence and tears.
When We Two Parted by George Gordon, Lord Byron is a poem written of a broken-hearted lover. However, it does include sarcastic undertones to the situation which he writes about. This poem also has a structure which makes it aesthetically pleasing and intriguing to the reader. The aesthetics of the poem include the rhyming and structure of the poem. The rhyming of the poem is significant to notice here because it follows an A-B-A-B format. As one can see, there are different types of rhymes within each stanza. The odd and even verses have differing rhyme structure. This rhyming format provides the poem with a sing-song or musical sound throughout the stanzas. Another attribute to the way the poem flows deals with the stress on the syllables in the poem lines. Each line has two syllables which are accented. For instance, in line 3, the stress is as follows- “half-broken-hearted.” This also helps us derive different meanings from the poem itself. As we can see with this example, the poem does not have a meaning of heartbreak but rather taking a cynical view on the topic of a broken heart.
Further insight on When We Two Parted can be seen from the structure of the poem. For starters, the poem is divided into four stanzas and eight verses within each stanza. Each stanza discusses a different emotion that Byron feels toward his lover. Furthermore, the poem switches from first person to plural and singular. In the first and last stanza, there is plural used, however, in the second and third stanza, there is first person used. An example includes when it says, “When we two parted” in the first stanza (showing plural) and “I hear thy name” in the second stanza (showing singular, first person). It seems as if this shows a sense of the author reflecting as he writes. Not only that, but there is an element which adds to the aesthetics of the poem. This element is that of coldness. In the second and third stanzas this is especially prevalent. It refers to these elements of cold throughout the poem. This is a reflection of the mans feelings toward the woman which the poem is written about. In addition, the first and last verses of the poem are close in wording, yet, contrasting in meaning. The first few lines discuss Byron’s passion toward the woman. Whereas, the last lines suggest how the woman forgot and deceived him.
Overall, the aesthetics of When We Two Parted are evident through the rhyming, structure, and wording. The canter to the poem and the meaning of the poem are expressed in creative manners which show the artistic elements of which Byron wrote. All these elements create a poem which is almost musical to read, entertaining to decipher, and sarcastically intriguing.
