When We Two Parted: Key notes

 When We Two Parted

Key notes to rememeber:

• Witten by Lord Byron in 1808 and published in 1816.
• Has 4 stanzas, 8 lines each (octets)
• Has a rhyme scheme of ABABCDC... (rhyming couplets)

Key themes:

• Romantic love - loss
• Distance
• Death
• Memory

Historical context:

Lord Byron was writing about Lady Frances Webster and she was believed to have a had a relationship with Byron whilst she was married to a friend of his. Byron was famous for have a number of illicit affairs with high class women.

Byron originally lied about the publishing date to hide the fact that he had an affair with Lady Frances Webster as she was also having an affair with the Duke of Wellington, therefore he ended his relationship with Lady Frances and worte this poem out of revenge.

What is this poem about?

This poem recalls the end of a previous relationship that the narrator (Byron) still feels emotionally upset and regretful about it. The relationship was secret as she was having an affair with him and ever since…