When we two parted by Lord Byron

‘Half broken-hearted’

only partly upset-pride, or only half a heart/only half the couple is upset

context: lied about when it was published to deny it being about Lady Webster-embarrassment.

‘To sever for years’

aggressive verb ‘sever’ contrasts the messy break of the first 3 lines, shows acceptance

Semantic field of death (sever, knell, grieve, spirit)

-he feels betrayed, she is dead to him

-association with hatred towards his parents (C:father abandoned him)

-he lost Lady Webster to Lord Wellington

-likening the grief of her leaving to death

‘a knell in mine ear’

metaphor→’knell’= funeral bell

funeral bell- unsettling sound, reminder of relationship which he mourns

resentment: not a nice sound, bad thoughts

‘Why wert thou so dear?’

rhetorical question, questioning why this relationship matters so much when he had several others.

structure/rhyme scheme

octet-ABABCDCD, 4 stanzas, 4 couplets

→ regular + controlled - planned out therefore not raw emotion

→pride, puts up a front so seen as he wants to be (manly), emotion doesn’t fit his image

Cyclical structure

‘silence and tears’ repetition

→grief is following him, chasing him, it is inescapable