when we two parted

• "Pale grew thy cheek, and cold, /colder thy kiss; / Truly that hour foretold, / Sorrow to this.


  Meaning - The pain and coldness foreshadowed the future sadness that he would experience.

  
  

  Could show - How that one hour in which they broke up has made him act in sorrow, and he will continue to be sad. 'Pale' shows the death of the love.

  
  

  The poem is written in accentual verse - however the lines 'pale grew thy cheek and cold' (line 5), and 'truly that hour foretold' (line 7) break this pattern and have 3 stressed syllables instead of just 2.

  This line speaks about how the speaker was rejected by his lover - it came as a shock just like the irregular structure change.
• The dew of the morning / sunk chill on my brow - / it feels like a warning of what I feel now'


  Meaning - The dew is sticking to my skin and this feels like it's warning me that I will feel sorrowful.

  
  

  Ideas - Dew is 'Natural' - this could show that part of breaking up means that it is natural to feel sad
• They name thee before me, / a knell in mine ear; / A shudder comes o'er me - /

  why wert thou so dear?


  A 'knell' is a type of bell - usually used in a funeral. This could suggest the idea of when people talk about this woman, Byron is reminded of a lost, dead love.

  The knell in the ear means that you are unable to escape from the noise - he is unable to escape from her memory.

  I overhear people talking about you and to me it is like:

  • a funeral bell

  • the sound of death

  • a foretaste of death

  
  

  Byron was known for having many promiscuous relationships, both heterosexual and homosexual. 'Why wert thou so dear?' could link to this idea of him having a number of relationships and asking, why, why was she different to the others?
• In secret we met - / In silence I grieve'


  The idea of them meeting secretly and then him, again, in a way secretly dealing with the loss and grief.

  They go from being together when they met, and now him being alone.

  Summarises their relationship.
• If I should meet thee / after long years, /

  how should I greet thee? - / In silence and tears


  He is saying 'how should I speak to you when I see you again?'.

  Circular structure 'In silence and tears'. Both begins an ends with the same phrase. This can show that the emotions that the speaker is feeling will never end, and they will last forever. This is reinforced by the fact that the speaker still believes that he will still feel the same way as he does now, and as he did directly after the break up (beginning of the poem), suggests that his loss and grief will be everlasting
• Accentual verse


  Each line must contain the same number of stressed or unstressed syllables, no matter how many syllables there are in each line.

  E.g. in the poem there are always two stressed syllables.

  However, there is a break in accentual verse. See card one for more!
• Sensory language and ideas to do with the senses


  'hear' 'shudder'.

  The use of sensory language could show that the relationship was based on 'sensory pleasure' / intercourse.

  However there is evidence of juxtaposing views.
• Half broken hearted'


  Could suggest that only one of them was broken hearted, or could show that both of them were a bit sad.

  (((For the latter see the previous card.

  For the former look out for my evidence as we go through))).
• Structure and rhyme


  The rhyme follows the same pattern as a sonnet (which is a love poem).

  However this sonnet like structure changes at 'vows are all broken', suggesting that this sort of upset doesn't happen in sonnets or love poems. This is un-natural.

  
  

  In addition just before the break in structure from the sonnet form, Byron uses a full stop to separate the sonnet from the new structure.