AQA English GCSE Past Paper: Poetry: Love and Relationships - When We Two Parted PDF

AQA English GCSE Poetry: Love and Relationships When We Two Parted - ​Lord Byron This work by PMT Education is licensed under https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-edu-cc CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 ht...

AQA English GCSE Poetry: Love and Relationships When We Two Parted - ​Lord Byron This work by PMT Education is licensed under https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-edu-cc CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc  WHEN WE TWO PARTED Lord Byron Brief Summary When we two parted was written by Byron to express his sorrow at the loss of a relationship. He implies that the relationship was a secret so he is only able to grieve in secret. This leads many people to believe that the poem was inspired by Byron’s affair with Lady Frances Wedderburn Webster. Synopsis The speaker states that they have separated with a lover and are upset about it. He expresses the impact of the separation on him The speaker then says how the relationship was a secret so none of his friends know of the suffering he is enduring. Context Lord Byron (1788-1824) Byron was a notorious Romantic poet who was frequently embroiled in public scandals: he is considered by many to be the first “celebrity”. After apparently having an illegitimate child with his half sister, Byron married Annabella Milbanke. They soon split up and after this, Byron engaged in shameful activities such as affairs and getting into debt. He eventually moved to Lake Geneva in 1816 where he spent time with Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Claire Clairmont (Mary Shelley’s half sister). He also fathered Clairmont’s child. Byron travelled further throughout Europe and eventually died of a fever in modern day Greece. Literary context Byron rejected societal convention throughout his life, including in his work. The archetype of the ​Byronic hero​ was created by Lord Byron. A Byronic hero may possess some of these traits: Rejecting of authority Sexually attractive Self-destructive An outsider Secretive These characteristics were based on Byron himself as well as some of his characters. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc  When We Two Parted Repeated “​ W” ​sounds allude to the Byron’s use of ​sibilance​ here creates an difficulty being expressed by the uncomfortable sound for the listener and speaker. has funeral-like connotations. “Sever”​ has violent connotations The idea of a pale cheek and cold kiss which show that the speaker is fully has death-like connotations, implying that separated from their former lover. the speaker is mourning the death of the W​hen ​w​e two parted relationship. Byron also shows the Implications of emotional detachment, physical impact of the character’s In ​s​ilen​c​e and tear​s​, and ‘thy’ suggests that the speaker is sadness. ​“Grew”​ suggests that a placing the blame for the breakdown of Half broken-hearted relationship is never concluded, only the relationship on his lover rather than To ​sever​ for years, changes over time. his own actions or emotions. Pale​ grew thy cheek and ​cold​, Colder thy​ kiss; Use of cold imagery throughout the The fresh natural connotations of morning Truly that hour foretold poem shows the lack of loving warmth dew are subverted here to denote the in the speaker’s life. ​“Sunk”​ implies Sorrow to this. speaker’s sadness. This shows their that the speaker is feeling the overwhelming desperation. heaviness of their lack of love weighing The ​dew​ of the morning on them. Sank chill​ on my brow – The image of dew is used to foreshadow the speaker’s tears. It felt like the ​warning This implies the breakdown of a Of what I ​feel now​. Byron uses ​sibilant alliteration​ here to marriage, showing that the speaker has lost a significant relationship and also a Thy ​vows​ are all broken, emphasise the shame experienced after sacred promise has been broken. And light is thy fame; the public breakdown of a relationship. I hear thy name spoken, “knell”​ alludes to the sound of a And ​sh​are in its ​sh​ame. This shows the physical impact of the funeral bell, furthering the theme of speaker’s sadness. death in the poem and adding to the impression of the speaker being in They name thee before me, Emphatic repetition of “​ long”​ shows the mourning. This also Introduces the A ​knell​ in mine ear; speaker’s state of hopelessness. effect ​synesthesia​, as he later A ​shudder​ comes o'er me – references the physical sense of a Why wert thou so dear? This makes it seem like the poem is an “shudder”​ and here he has referenced internal monologue​ rather than meant to They know not I knew thee, noise. This overwhelming nature of the be spoken aloud. senses could be argued to mirror the Who knew thee too well – all-consuming nature of the couple’s Long, long​ shall I rue thee, Byron’s use of a ​rhetorical question relationship. Too deeply to tell. shows how he has become uncertain around someone he was once intimately familiar with. In ​secret we​ met – Byron’s use of a ​rhetorical question In ​silence​ I grieve, here alludes to his solitude. That thy heart could forget, Thy spirit deceive. Alludes to an affair. The poem uses If I should meet thee Shows that the speaker still has hope that collective pronouns​ very infrequently, they may be reunited again in the future. After long years​, therefore this highlights this line as a Repeats the adjective “​ long”​ again from significant point in their relationship. How should I greet thee? – earlier which further emphasises that the This, in conjunction with the ​past With ​silence and tears​. pain of moving apart and separating won’t participle​ ​“met”​, suggests that they leave the speaker and it continues to used to enjoy unity but now they have haunt him frequently. reverted to being separate entities. The poem ends emphatically with a full stop, showing that all the speaker is left with is silence and tears. It is also a response to a ​rhetorical question​, which is unusual and could be argued to mirror the unconventional dynamic of their relationship. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc Perspective The poem is written in the ​first person​ to show how personal the poem is. This narrative form creates the impression of an ​insular environment​ to highlight the speaker’s isolation. The speaker is heavily ​fixated on his emotions​ and expresses them readily. This implies that those emotions have built up over time and the speaker is desperate to express them. The Opening The poem opens with the same line as the title to establish an​ intense tone​ from the start. The tone is unwavering throughout the poem so by starting in the same way, Byron provides the listener with no relief from this emotional intensity. When we two parted In silence and tears, Half broken-hearted To sever for years, Pale grew thy cheek and cold Colder thy kiss; Truly that hour foretold Sorrow to this. Structure Cyclic narrative There is no progression in the narrative, implying that the speaker’s sadness is ​repetitive and ongoing​. The poem begins with the speaker discussing his ​“silence and tears” ​and ends with him discussing how he shall ​“rue thee, // Too deeply to tell”. Form and Meter Accentual verse The poem is written in ​accentual verse​ which means the number of stresses per line must be consistent throughout the poem. However, the total amount of syllables can vary. There are ​two stresses per line​ throughout the poem - such as: when​ we two p ​ art​ed In ​sil​ence and ​tears, Half​ broken-​heart​ed To ​sev​er for ​years. The two stresses could be seen to be representative of the ​two separate people. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc Accentual verse​ is also very common in Old English literature, so it suggests that their relationship is traditional. The verse has greater flexibility than more rigid rhyming and syllable structures. The freedom provided by this form allows for the expression of intense emotion which is characteristic of a Romantic poem but unexpected of a contemporary man. Rhyme scheme The ​repetitive rhythm​ of the poem demonstrates the regularity of the speaker’s sadness, it is seemingly endless. Byron also uses a regular ABABCDCD rhyme scheme to the same effect. Line lengths The line lengths are irregular which gives the poem a ​conversational tone​, adding authenticity to the speaker’s sadness. Language Semantic field of death Byron frequently uses ​lexis​ from the ​semantic field​ of death to emphasise the significance of the speaker’s suffering. The ​tactile imagery​ used in ​“pale grew thy cheek and cold, // Colder thy kiss” ​acts as a ​metaphor​ to compare the speaker’s former lover with a dead body. This shows how his lover no longer has love or warmth for the speaker and it could be implied that he is dead to her. Auditory imagery​ is used in​ “A knell in mine ear” ​to provide connotations of the bell used to somberly announce a death. This contributes to the deathly atmosphere increasing the listener’s impression of the speaker experiencing an absence of love. Despair Byron’s use of language in the poem creates a ​tone of despair​. ​Sibilance​ is frequently used throughout the poem and is heard in​ “silence and tears”​ and ​“sorrow to this”. T ​ his use of phonetics​ creates an uncomfortable sound for the listener to demonstrate the speaker’s discomfort. The tone is perpetuated by Byron’s ​allusion to silence​. The regular ABABCDCD rhyme scheme creates a strict rhythm, implying that things are being left unsaid by the speaker. This adds to the listener’s sense of the speaker’s anguish. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc Comparisons Porphyria’s Lover Similarities In “Porphyria’s lover”, Browning makes explicit references to death in “Three times her her little throat around, // And strangled her”.​ In “When we two parted”, Byron makes more implicit references to death to compare his relationship to it in the auditory imagery in ​“A knell in mine ear”. Differences In “Porphyria’s lover”, the speaker describes his lover’s body in a way which makes her seem alive in the metaphor ​“Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.” a ​ nd ​“The smiling rosy little head”. T ​ he opposite is true in “When we two parted”, in which something living (his love) is made to seem physically dead. Byron does so through his use of lexis from the semantic field of death in ​“Pale grew thy cheek”,​ ​“In silence I grieve”​ and ​“foretold // sorrow to this”. Neutral Tones Similarities Both speakers use morbid references to express their sadness. Byron does so through his use of auditory imagery in ​“A knell to mine ear” and the lack of in ​“In silence I grieve”.​ Hardy similarly uses the metaphors ​“The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing” ​and “Alive enough to have strength to die”. The speaker’s sadness is further shown through the poet’s use of phonetics. Byron uses sibilance in ​“share in its shame”​ and ​“silence and tears”​ whilst Hardy uses the same technique in ​“bitterness swept thereby”​ and ​“keen lessons that love deceives”. Differences In “Neutral tones”, the speaker’s dejection is reflected in his negative description of his surroundings. Natural imagery usually has positive connotations however, here this is subverted in the syndetic listing in “Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree, // And a pond edged with greyish leaves.”. ​Opposingly, in “When we two parted”, the speaker reflects on his internalised feelings in ​“In silence I grieve”. https://bit.ly/pmt-cc https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc