Nom sum - Ernest Dowson

“I was desolate” - epimone emphasises speaker’s loneliness and the wretchedness of his mental state now that Cynara is gone.

Full title translates to “I am not as I was in the reign of good Cynara”. - It reflects the common human experience of looking back on past relationships or experiences with a sense of longing and regret.

“When I awoke and found the dawn was grey” - Pathetic fallacy creates a depressing atmosphere. Dawn usually brings on the promise of a new day however, we find the speaker is in a miserable state, illustrated through his clouded perception. 

“Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet” - Dehumanises her (other random woman) as a prostitute through the synecdoche of her mouth. Makes us question his treatment of Cynara. (ruined maid)

“And I am desolate and sick of an old passion” explaining he is “hungry for the lips of my desire” - use of hyperbole, as though his infatuation is so strong, it almost becomes animalistic. His desire is assigned a body part and therefore is personified, this quote depicting his never ending attraction to her and how it is insatiable. (whoso)

Speaks of “Lost lilies” - Lilies are a symbol of death, the speaker mourning the loss of their relationship. Cyanara is physically distant but emotionally present to the speaker, like a ghost. (remember)

“There fell thy shadow, Cynara!” - Use of metaphor, Cyanara appears as a shadow, connoting to the idea of darkness and the unconscious mind. The memory of her infiltrates into many things, even between their “lips” as they kissed. Use of exclamation, even uttering her name evokes strong emotions from the speaker.

“I was desolate and bowed my head” - Bowing of head suggests the speaker acknowledges his wrongdoings and feels guilt and shame over the fact he now engages in unloving sexual acts. 

Both the form and metre appear to be unconventional as the form doesn’t use traditional love poetry form however this change in pace and rhythm perhaps makes the reader aware of the speaker’s strong frantic emotions that match this form. Both of these perhaps mirrors the speaker’s unsteady state as he roams around getting drunk and living recklessly trying to forget Cynara. Like cynara's ghostly visitations, the poem’s metre is unpredictable.

Tense shift in final stanza - “when the feast is finished and the lamps expire” - Reader is brought to the present, into the current pain being endured by the speaker, unspecified present tense creates the sense the speaker’s pain is regular and never fails to present itself, the loss of cynara having a permanent hold on his life. 

Links to the idea of unrequited love and the passage of time - Speaker must live with this heartbreak for the rest of his life, the poem showing no signs of him healing or moving on.