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.

.: :.

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

.: :.

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

.: :.

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

.: :.

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

.: :.

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

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

.: :.

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

.: :.

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

.: :.

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

.: :.

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