When We Two Parted by George Gordon Byron Poem Analysis Essay

“When We Two Parted” is a poem written by George Gordon Byron, that talks about a man who is broken-hearted because he and his lover have parted. The overall theme of the poem, the pain of love lost, is displayed through many viewpoints such as tone, rhyme, and figurative language. The author's purpose was to talk about the pain and grief of what it's like to break up with someone you truly cared about.

Byron wrote, in the first stanza, “When we two parted/ In silence and tears...” (1-2). The tone has already been set as being sad and miserable knowing the context that the couple has separated. When Byron uses, “in silence and tears” it makes the reader feel for the couple, knowing it was a sad breakup. This also shows that the author is depressed about not being able to speak about what happened. The reader can also see that Byron uses a metaphor to say that everything the woman touches turns cold, “Pale grew thy cheek and cold, /colder thy kiss.”(5-6). The author is implying that when his lover is so cold-hearted everything they touch turns cold.

Near the end of the poem, the author says that he and his lover met in private and now he has to grieve in private. “In silence, we met — In silence, I grieve...”(1-2). He then goes on to say if his lover could move on so quickly then they're unfeeling. “If I should meet thee After long years, How should I greet thee? — With silence and tears.” The author is saying if they meet again after a while he would still be hurt by the breakup. 

The message the author is trying to convey is that the loss of the relationship has taken a toll on him, which he might not recover from. The author uses the mood of the reader to feel for the man as he cared so much for his lover to be broken up with and not speak about is very disheartening.