Compare the ways poets present the experience of separation in
‘When We Two Parted’ and one other poem from ‘Love and
Relationships’. (‘Neutral Tones’)
Lord Byron’s ‘When We Two Parted’ and Thomas Hardy’s ‘Neutral Tones’
both describe the painful moment of separation, and the way that they have
been haunted by the memory of this moment over the years. Both
experienced painful loss in their personal lives, and both are speaking from
that personal experience. Byron in particular was a notorious philanderer
who became involved in numerous complicated and tragic affairs. The
woman addressed in ‘When We Two Parted’ may be Lady Frances
Webster, a married woman with whom Byron had a scandalous liaison.
Both poets create a circular structure, with the end of the poem echoing the
last, although with some variations. Byron repeats the phrase ‘silence and
tears’, as well as the rhyme of ‘tears’ and ‘years’ to emphasise how the
pain of separation has not lessened with time, but increased. Similarly,
Hardy returns in his last stanza to the scene described in the first. He
makes the increased bitterness of the separation even clearer, because
although the sun, the tree and the pond are all mentioned both at the
beginning and the end of the poem, the description of the sun has changed
from merely being ‘chidden of God’ to being ‘God curst’. This reflects
Hardy’s personal belief that his family was cursed - that the powers of
heaven were working against him.
The circular structure used by both poets is linked to the way in which they
both dwell upon a painful memory of separation which continues to haunt
them, and examine how that memory has been influenced by the passing
of time. Both poets describe the increasingly embittered emotions that have
developed since the moment of separation. Byron does this through a
description of how he hears about the immoral behaviour of his ex-lover,
and shares in the ‘shame’ which she has brought upon herself. He uses the
striking image of a ‘knell’ - a funeral bell - to describe how chilling is the
sound of her name to his ears. Interestingly, his sharing in her shame
shows that he is not completely separated from her. He still has an
emotional attachment, although it is entirely negative. For Hardy, the
increasing bitterness is less personal, but more of a general conclusion
about the painfulness of love, because he asserts that it ‘deceives / And
wrings with wrong’. The verb ‘wrings’ emphasises the excruciating pain of
the lover who is crushed by the treachery of his beloved, and the fact that
Hardy has come to a general conclusion that this is the effect of love
makes it even more shocking for the reader. It is not just one person who
betrays, but all lovers, according to this assertion.
‘When We Two Parted’ and one other poem from ‘Love and
Relationships’. (‘Neutral Tones’)
Lord Byron’s ‘When We Two Parted’ and Thomas Hardy’s ‘Neutral Tones’
both describe the painful moment of separation, and the way that they have
been haunted by the memory of this moment over the years. Both
experienced painful loss in their personal lives, and both are speaking from
that personal experience. Byron in particular was a notorious philanderer
who became involved in numerous complicated and tragic affairs. The
woman addressed in ‘When We Two Parted’ may be Lady Frances
Webster, a married woman with whom Byron had a scandalous liaison.
Both poets create a circular structure, with the end of the poem echoing the
last, although with some variations. Byron repeats the phrase ‘silence and
tears’, as well as the rhyme of ‘tears’ and ‘years’ to emphasise how the
pain of separation has not lessened with time, but increased. Similarly,
Hardy returns in his last stanza to the scene described in the first. He
makes the increased bitterness of the separation even clearer, because
although the sun, the tree and the pond are all mentioned both at the
beginning and the end of the poem, the description of the sun has changed
from merely being ‘chidden of God’ to being ‘God curst’. This reflects
Hardy’s personal belief that his family was cursed - that the powers of
heaven were working against him.
The circular structure used by both poets is linked to the way in which they
both dwell upon a painful memory of separation which continues to haunt
them, and examine how that memory has been influenced by the passing
of time. Both poets describe the increasingly embittered emotions that have
developed since the moment of separation. Byron does this through a
description of how he hears about the immoral behaviour of his ex-lover,
and shares in the ‘shame’ which she has brought upon herself. He uses the
striking image of a ‘knell’ - a funeral bell - to describe how chilling is the
sound of her name to his ears. Interestingly, his sharing in her shame
shows that he is not completely separated from her. He still has an
emotional attachment, although it is entirely negative. For Hardy, the
increasing bitterness is less personal, but more of a general conclusion
about the painfulness of love, because he asserts that it ‘deceives / And
wrings with wrong’. The verb ‘wrings’ emphasises the excruciating pain of
the lover who is crushed by the treachery of his beloved, and the fact that
Hardy has come to a general conclusion that this is the effect of love
makes it even more shocking for the reader. It is not just one person who
betrays, but all lovers, according to this assertion.
