when we two parted Flashcards
(3 cards)
‘When we two parted in silence and tears’
• Inclusive pronoun ‘we’ - speaker still sees them as one showing the inability to accept the break up
• Alliteration ‘w’ sounds like they are sobbing as their lips quiver - implies grief and he is weakening
• sensory imagery- the moment is etched into his memory with a startling clarity
• synaesthesia (mixing the senses) conveys how distraught and overwhelmed he is
• silence= forbidden relationship and the nature of his grief
• enjambement - broken line symbolises the breakdown of their relationship
‘to sever for years, pale grew thy cheek and cold, colder thy kiss’
• sever depicts violence
• amplifying the magnitude of the speakers pain and how he is physically broken
• indicates that the separation is not only painful but also prolonged
• death imagery- blaming his lovers dying feelings. Her lack of warmth is a lack of emotions
• direct address- creates an accusatory tone
• Alliteration ‘c’ sounds like choking- speaker feels suffocated and stifled due to trauma
• juxtaposition- a kiss is supposed to be filled with romance and warmth however for her the relationship was about desire not emotion
• repetition of cold shows his lover is detached and disengaged
‘How should i greet thee? With silence and tears.’
•Cyclical structure- breaking up has had a lasting impact, he is trapped in grief and has the inability to move on
• conditional clause- speaker is unable to move on and he is fantasising about meeting her again
•Rhetorical question- His confusion at their boundaries in their relationship. Highlights how quick relationships change
• irony- he thinks about her yet he had many affairs at around 250 women in a year
