Lord Byron's When We Two Parted

Poetry can be linked to many different types of individuals, in countless diverse ways. Poems have been passed on from generation to generation, morphing into a new story each time it is passed on. Along with the actual poem changing, things are added to as well as taken from, the original story. Lord Byron was a man who went through many hardships, from his young childhood up until late adulthood. Byron suffered from a disability when he was born; he grew up with a clubbed right foot and suffered the consequences of mockery and jokes behind his back. The humiliation and harassment Byron went through growing up is a contributing factor to his sonnets written throughout his years as a poet. Byron turned to writing to express emotions he was coming across. In the poem “When We Two Parted,” Byron uses mechanics, imagery, and a main theme to impart to the reader of the loss of a love as well as a lost innocence.

Byron uses mechanics during the poem to expand the reader’s understanding of the direct emotions he was feeling while writing the poem. Poetry for Students states, in the poem “When We Two Parted,” the poem looks back in time, to when the affair was ended. It also predicts the results of a possible future meeting of the two former lovers (297). A number of the lines in the poem echo the authors love for his previous lover, however there are also numerous mentions of heartache from her leave. Poetry for Students also states, the tone in this stanza and throughout the poem is dark and bleak (297). Various lines in the poem “When We Two Parted,” rhyme, but there is no dependable outline throughout the poem as one piece. In the first stanza Byron lets lines one and three (parted and hearted), lines two and four ...

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...ken away. By means of poetry, Hughes is able to convey to readers what emotions he was feeling as he was going through his heartbreak and loss of his secret love. By writing the poem, “When We Two Parted”, Byron creates an atmosphere of sadness and regret of getting involved in a discreet relationship with a woman who he inevitably couldn’t trust.

Works Cited

Byron, George. “When We Two Parted” Poetry for Students. Ed. Mary Ruby. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 297. Print.

Dominic, Catherine. Criticism. Ed. Mary Ruby. 29. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 305. Print.

Milne, Ira. Poetry for Students. Ed. Mary Ruby. 29. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 295-309. Print.

Rukhaya, M.K.. "Poetry Analysis: Lord Byron's "When We Two Parted"." Yahoo Voices. N.p., 09 Dec 2012. Web. 9 Feb 2014. .