When We Two Parted

Question 1

What are the key themes of when we two parted?

Answer 1

Loss
Grief
Heartbreak

Question 2

What is the tone of when we two parted?

Answer 2

Anger
Bitterness
Grief

Question 3

What is the form and structure of when we two parted?

Answer 3

Shifting tense between past, present and future emphasises the speaker’s persistent pain
His rhetorical questions convey how he still requires closure on the relationship
Cyclical structure of “in silence and in tears” emphasises ongoing pain

Question 4

What the context of when we two parted?

Answer 4

The poem is thought to be an autobiographical account of one of Byron’s many affairs
The account of the love affair may be somewhat one-sided, and potentially an unfair portrayal of the woman - this might reflect his bitterness and pain.

Question 5

What is the meaning and purpose of when we two parted?

Answer 5

Speaker is directly addressing a former lover who no longer shows any affection for him
He is clearly still affected by the relationship and angry at her coldness towards him and her continued promiscuity
The poem conveys how the pain of a broken love affair is similar to grief: there is imagery of death in the
poem

Question 6

Grief?

Answer 6

‘cold, / Colder thy kiss.’
‘A knell’ then ‘a shudder comes o’er me’

Question 7

Loss?

Answer 7

‘Half-broken hearted’
‘When we two parted / In silence and tears’
‘In secret we met - in silence I grieve”

Question 8

Anger?

Answer 8

‘That thy heart could forget,/Thy spirit deceive’