According to biographers and to Byron’s 1823
correspondence, he is dismayed at the notion of
Lady Frances having become entangled with the
Duke of Wellington. She married her husband,
Sir James Wedderburn Webster, in 1810, and
Byron, a friend of Sir James’s, fell in love with
Frances in 1813; she was already out of reach, so
to speak, although Byron’s affairs with appa-
rently unavailable women were numerous.
While some biographers have contended that
Byron’s relationship with Lady Frances was
romantic but not physical, his feelings for her
were strong enough for him to still feel the pain
of betrayal at a married woman’s dalliance with
another man.Remorse and Regret
The betrayal the speaker feels has lead him to
bitterly regret that he had ever had feelings for
the woman in the poem. ‘‘When We Two Parted’’
is brimming with notes of despair, sadness, and
especially remorse. Almost nothing is said about
the woman that would indicate the speaker is glad
to have known her and at least to have shared the
intimacies that they had. He wonders ‘‘Why wert
thou so dear?’’ This question, itself imbued with a
sense of regret, provides a tiny glimpse into the
terminated relationship, suggesting warmth, and
affection. The word ‘‘dear’’ is the only positive
notion in a collection of stanzas filled with such
negative images as pale cheeks, cold kisses,
silence, tears, chilly dew, broken promises, shud-
ders of pain, and long years of regret. Aside from
this single reminder of the poet’s love, he speaks
primarily of his past, present, and future sorrow,
and predicts that the regret he feels at having
allowed himself to love and be hurt by the
woman will only deepen over time. The reader is
reminded of this at every turn. In the first stanza,
the pain felt at the moment of the break up was a
prophesy of the current suffering of the speaker.
In the second stanza, the chilly, wet morning
served as a warning for what the poet now feels.
At the end of the third stanza, the speaker again
transitions from past (‘‘They know not I knew
thee / Who knew thee too well’’) to the future
(‘‘Long, long shall I rue thee’’). The final stanza
reiterates the duration of his agony from the past,
secret meetings to the current silence in which he
grieves, and through to the future: ‘‘If I should
meet thee / After long years, / How should I greet
thee?— / With silence and tears.’’ The poem
repeats the phrase ‘‘silence and tears,’’ in the first
and last stanzas, emphasizing the progressive
accumulation of pain and regret from the termi-
nation of the affair through the present and into
the future as well. At the same time, the repetitionTOPICS FOR
FURTHER
STUDY Byron was known for his rebellious spirit and
for his liberal politics. He fought on the side of
the Greeks during theirwar for independence
from Turkey, which was waged from 1821
through 1832. Why were the Turks invading
Greece? Were other nations involved in the
war? What could have motivated Byron to
become involved in a foreign nation’s struggle
for sovereignty? Write a report on the Greek
War of Independence and include a discus-
sion of Great Britain’s role in the war and its
resolution.
‘‘When We Two Parted’’ centers on the
end of a romantic relationship and the far-
reaching emotional conflicts that follow.
Write a poem about a personal, painful
event that has happened in the past; attempt
to duplicate the rhythm and rhyme scheme
of ‘‘When We Two Parted.’’
Read Byron’s ‘‘Fare Thee Well,’’ which he
composed in 1816 when his separation from
his wife became final. How is this poem sim-
ilar to ‘‘When We Two Parted’’? How do the
poems differ in tone and sentiment? How do
biographical facts inform your reading of the
poem? Write an essay on your comparison.
Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats
were all writing Romantic lyrics in the early
1800s. Compare the form, content, and style
of ‘‘When We Two Parted’’ with Shelley’s
‘‘Stanzas’’ and Keats’s ‘‘I Cry Your Mercy.’’
Both, like Byron’s poem, express longing for
a woman’s love. How do the modes of
expression differ? Which do you prefer and
why? Give a class presentation on this topic
and a dramatic reading of your favorite of
the three poems. Be sure to discuss the rea-
sons for your preference.When We Two Parted