Englisch / 9. bis 11. Jahrgang (12 - 15 Wochenstunden)
Dr. Peter Wittner

HTML-Vortrag

When We Two Parted
George Gordon Lord Byron (1788-1824)

Often the speaker in a poem is not the poet's own voice but a character or voice created by the poet to achieve a particular effect. What are the emotions, thoughts, and wishes that are expressed in the poem?

emotions
  
thoughts
  
wishes

sorrow, regret, betrayal, shame, bitterness, heartbreak

   The speakers thinks he should have seen the sorrow coming; he can't understand why he loved her so much   He seems to wish he had not loved her; he hopes never to hear from her again


The speaker's feelings result from

  • The break-up of his secret relationship with the woman has deeply saddened him.
  • He has assumed that the woman felt the same love toward him and the same sorrow over their parting as he has felt.
  • He is surprised to discover through gossip that the woman has carried on affairs with other men, since they broke up.
  • He may be ashamed of the hidden part he played in ruining the woman's reputation.
  • He feels that he has been fooled by the woman into believing that she cared for him.

     
    "When We Two Parted" seems realistic in that it
  • portrays the pain of love or the end of loving
  • the speaker responds to the woman's betrayal with understandable feelings of bitterness, disbelief, disappointment, and pain
  • the speaker discovers the woman's betrayal through gossip
  • the speaker wonders how he will respond to the woman in the future


    Other poems by Lord Byron
> Do the quiz on the poem