When We Two Parted Analysis

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 shrudder comes o'er me--

Why wert thou so dear?

They know not I knew thee,

Who knew thee so well--

Long, long I shall 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.

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umm.. hate to break your bubble but he wrote it about his half-sister
i do agree it's a great poem though and if anything i think this makes it better because you understand more why it's a forbiden love

| Posted on 2009-10-28 | by a guest

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hey first . This is Huda , 21 years old . studying English literature . looking for something to present to my class as a comparative literature . between Byron and Farouq Gwaidah . I likes this poem .
it's clear that the poet talks about two lovers left each other . He expresses his feelings in this dark , violent and grieve moment .
I hope that my presentation be wonderful . pray for me ....

| Posted on 2009-10-22 | by a guest

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Umm. I dont know how many people have brought this up before, but Lord Byron was likely to be Bisexual, so this poem could be about a man, which would make some sense, if their relationship was secret.

| Posted on 2009-10-17 | by a guest

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Awesome poem that im doing for english. I agree that "It talks about o women he loved in secret and she died and He cannot grief over her because their relashionship was a secret and every time he hears her name he feels a pain and he wonders if when he sees her in heaven if their relashonship will still be the same love as before." and also what is with those freaky divorce stories.

| Posted on 2009-10-05 | by a guest

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well first of all i love dis poem and after reading all u guys' comments all i can say is omg!!!

| Posted on 2009-09-17 | by a guest

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I picked this poem for an english project, because i fell in love with it. i tried to discover the meaning but everytime i read it something eles pops out and changes it for me.
When i first read it i thought they broke up and when he says "Thy vows are all broken" i thought it meant being together forever, "I seacret we met" knowing they couldnt be together.
Then i thought she created on him with all vows broken. Then i thought "Why am i thinking of a guy being hurt, why not a girl?" then i went back to the boy because i thought it was easier to figuer because i look at girls to be higher up like romeo and juliet.
Now i read others comments to try and find a meaning that works with what i can write...and i never thought of dealth....and now thats all i can think about.
Eventhough i think it might mean a breakup...i think dealth makes more sense.
I love this poem because i can connect to it because i know how it feels, my loved one did not die(breakup), but i feel of the pain of someone leaving forever.
~Cassi (sorry long commment)

| Posted on 2009-06-13 | by a guest

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Amazing poem. Amazing poet. Interesting life that gives more insight to the poem than what meets its initial reading. Love it, love him.

| Posted on 2009-06-09 | by a guest

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Lord Bryon's, "When we Two parted" is about a woman and a man who were secretly in love and couldn't be together because of their social classes. They separated for some time and she promised to love him forever, when in reality she basically started sleeping around and got a bad reputation. Now, the man is hearing other people talk about her because they never knew that he loved her and he is sharing in her shame. He concludes by asking her how he can ever face her again and his answer is with tears.

| Posted on 2009-05-27 | by a guest

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The earliest memory I have of this poem dated almost 10 years ago when my sister and I made music with this poem. I love the magnetism of the words being used by the poet.

| Posted on 2009-04-26 | by a guest

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This classic poem is timeless and fits my life perfectly. A girl was in love with me and i denied her for two years, then i fell in love with her and thats when she was forced by her parents to move across the country. We stayed in contact for years, theres more, but o well. Also, dude who posted on Posted on 2009-01-15 | by a guest... Only a jackase with no life would bash poets on a POETRY SITE!

| Posted on 2009-03-09 | by a guest

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This classic poem is timeless and fits my life perfectly. A girl was in love with me and i denied her for two years, then i fell in love with her and thats when she was forced by her parents to move across the country. We stayed in contact for years, theres more, but o well. Also, dude who posted on Posted on 2009-01-15 | by a guest... Only a jackass with no life would bash poets on a POETRY SITE!

| Posted on 2009-03-09 | by a guest

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he played with the words very well, the simplicity of the poem makes it a master piece, something to relate to and to learn from, what true love realy is, how it feels like to lose someone you have loved dearly and cherished over the years or even months. this is a true master piece. to you aspiring poets, learn this, it is not in the big words you use but the simplicity of the heart felt. Salut! Lord Byron. bien!T-LORas

| Posted on 2009-03-05 | by a guest

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he played with the words very well, the simplicity of the poem makes it a master piece, something to relate to and to learn from, what true love realy is, how it feels like to lose someone you have loved dearly and cherished over the years or even months. this is a true master piece. to you aspiring poets, learn this, it is not in the big words you use but the simplicity of the heart felt. Salut! Lord Byron. bien!

| Posted on 2009-03-05 | by a guest

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This poem is the outcome of true love it seems like.
He loved her, even if she is now gone.
It seems as if everybody has been through this so it's very relative to almost everybody.

| Posted on 2009-03-02 | by a guest

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This is one of my favorite poems!(Right next to "You Smiled" by Walter Savage Landor) I found this right after my boyfriend and I broke up while I was doing research for my Ntl. History Day project and as soon as I read it I started crying. Now I read it whenever he starts upsetting me and laugh at the fact that I ever felt this way about someone as rude and horrible to me as him. The best part about this poem is that I don't feel this way any more!

| Posted on 2009-02-09 | by a guest

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er.u guys r all pussies i ve hated this poem and all poems from the outset im sure u all r nerds so all i want 2 say is "GET A LIFE"

| Posted on 2009-01-15 | by a guest

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i first read this poem in my gcse english class, and it has stuck with me ever since. i love the amibguity, and how it leaves you to draw your own conclusions as to what were the circumstances, and who was his lover? having read the comments below, it never even occurred to me that his lover may have died, or they might have been divorced.
i love the rhyme scheme, and how when you read it, it seems to take on its own tone and lift off the page into your mind's eye; at least, it happens with me.

| Posted on 2008-11-14 | by a guest

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simply put, a poem that fits the romantics genre so perfectly!
Byron has generated a large build up of emotion for the reader, the rhyming scheme is quite simplistic and changes with the tone/mood of the poem
the element which seems to make this poem so heartfelt is the exploration of the ideas around break up and hardship when this type of even is encountered, it is a battle of the inner emotions
"in silence and tears
half broken hearted"...
"in secret we met-
in silence i grieve"
a topic so easily related to society and with timeless meaning!
what a spectacular piece!

| Posted on 2008-11-09 | by a guest

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The simple yet meaningful language of this poem makes it easy to interpret yet in no way takes away from the tragic nature of the poem. The two lovers obviously had a relationship rivaled only by Romeo and Juliet. When she left he was heart-broken. But as time went on he became hopeful that they might meet again. This is the true meaning of a heart break. This poem embodies the true nature of love being dashed away like dust in the wind. A true masterpiece.

| Posted on 2008-10-22 | by a guest

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I feel this poem is very emotional.
it's something that every body can relate
to. Whether they have either been in a relationship
they can relate to the poem one way or another

| Posted on 2008-09-17 | by a guest

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this poem is one of the most heartfelt poems ever...

| Posted on 2008-08-19 | by a guest

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this poem is arousing to the sense.
i got divorced once. my husband prodded my eyeball out with a fork, so i cut his leg off with a chainsaw. how dare he.
anyways, awesome poem lord byron!

| Posted on 2008-06-15 | by a guest

.: Easy to relate to :.

The simplistic form of the poem makes it seem more tragic and emotional to the reader. It is rare for a poem to make you go cold as this one does. Byron does not use complicated phrases or imagery seems to reach out to the reader making it more moving. This poem truly moved me because it seemed to sum up my first love who I had a secret relationship and despite my feelings never loved me back.

| Posted on 2007-11-22 | by a guest

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Lord Byrons dad Captain John Byron was a carpenter in Aberdeen.Know one kows why he was called captain but poeple say he used to be a captain of a largde fishing boat called "The Duke of Aberdeen" Captain John Byron wrote poems in his free time. This is where lord byron first undertsood the writing of poems, mostly love ones because his dad wrote poems to his sister who lived in england.

| Posted on 2007-10-24 | by a guest

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This poem is one of the most heartfelt poems ever. It talks about o women he loved in secret and she died and He cannot grief over her because their relashionship was a secret and every time he hears her name he feels a pain and he wonders if when he sees her in heaven if their relashonship will still be the same love as before.

| Posted on 2007-08-27 | by a guest

.: :.

This poem is one of the most heartfelt poems ever. It talks about o women he loved in secret and she died and He cannot grief over her because their relashionship was a secret and every time he hears her name he feels a pain and he wonders if when he sees her in heaven if their relashonship will still be the same love as before.

| Posted on 2007-08-27 | by a guest

.: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :.

When we two are parted by Lord Byron is surely the best and most poignant of all break up or missing you love poetry. The words have meaning to all those who have suffered a break up of a relationship and cannect with the missing you lyrics. The decline of a relationship is beautifully reflected in the wonderful words of Lord Byron - the poem that is truly for you if you need some help in expressing your break up or missing you sentiments.
A poem can stir all of the senses, and the subject matter of a poem can range from being funny to being sad. If you enjoyed this break up or missing you poem and appreciated the lyrics of When we two are parted by Lord Byron you will find even more poem lyrics by this famous author, together with his biography and picture, by simply clicking on the Poetry Index link below !


| Posted on 2007-03-21 | by a guest

.: It makes me cry :.

This poem is sooo sad!! OMG it made me cry. It seems as if Gordon and his wife got divorced. I got divorced as well, well to make the story short my husband bit my breast one time and I poked his eye so we got divorced. How dare you do that to me.
Anyways, this writer is great. I commend every one to read his poems

| Posted on 2007-03-20 | by a guest

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To be honest, I didn't think much of this poem when I first read it. I was sat on the train at the time, pawing over my Byron anthology, and the long journey may have had something to do with what I made of it at the time.
Since then, though, I've kept coming back to this over and over again. There's something in it that haunts me, something in it I can't let go.
It's sure as hell an example of how to write rhyming poetry, and write it well, even if I have always thought that the line:
"It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now."
Was a little . . . if not weak, then not right in some way. Shame he's not around any more so I can get him to change it.
Also, some of you may be interested to know that, when it was published, he omitted the last verse to safe the reputation of the woman that he had written it for, Lady Frances Webster.
Anyway, for those of you that are interested, this is it:

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.

And if those last two lines aren't literary dynamite, I don't know what is :)

| Posted on 2005-05-09 | by shatteredroses