‘Half broken hearted‘ suggests that only he was broken hearted or that they weren’t really in love to begin with.
The word ‘sever’ suggests that the breakup was brutal, blunt and extremely painful.
‘When We Two Parted’ has a cyclical structure emphasising the narrator’s ongoing feelings.
In line 1-2 it says ‘When we two parted, In silence and tears’ and in the last two lines of the poem it says ‘How should I greet thee?- With silence and tears’
Lord Byron shows a lot of resentment towards his ex-lover by addressing her using violent language in the poem e.g ' thy vows are all broken ' this makes her appear to be brutal and heartless.
He uses a lot of death imagery such as
' They name thee before me
A knell in mine ear '
To show that her and their relationship are both dead to him.
He also says
' Pale grew thy cheek and cold
Colder thy kiss '
' Why wert thou so dear? ' (rhetorical question) & ' Long long shall I rue thee ' Emphasis on how much he regrets the relationship and he is questioning why he loved her in the first place.
The poem starts in the past tense, then moves to the present, then the future which references back to the past. This is another way to show that this poem is cyclical and that his feelings are ongoing.
The rhyme scheme is ABAB is a progressive pattern that repeats itself throughout the poem and does not break; showing that his feelings are ongoing and that he is trapped in said feelings.
