Summary Exploring Themes of Lost Love in When We Two Parted and Neutral Tones
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
Unlock a deep and insightful exploration of the themes of loss and heartbreak through the lens of classic poetry in this meticulously crafted essay from a grade 9 essay writer. Our document delves into the emotional complexities and literary techniques used by renowned poets to convey profound sent...
Explore how poets present the theme of lost love in When
We Two Parted and one other poem
One similarity is the fact that both Neutral Tones and When We Two Parted use natural
imagery to explore the theme of lost love. In When We Two Parted, Lord Byron explores the
idea of lost love when he mentions that the morning "dew […] sunk chill" on his brow. This
quote therefore elucidates the impression that he is almost reliving the break-up of his
forbidden relationship each morning, almost as though it was a fresh reminder. The fact
there is dew on the grass suggests that it was a rather chilly day, Lord Byron may have used
this natural imagery to amplify the mournful tone of the first stanza. Moreover, the noun
‘morning’ can be inferred as a pun for the verb ‘mourning’ which further reinforces the idea
of their dead relationship. Furthermore, the use of the verb ‘sunk’ creates an image of
something heavy on the part of the speaker, almost as though he is bearing the grief of her
departure on himself. Similarly, in Neutral Tones the use of natural imagery can be seen
where the persona and their lover ‘stood by a pond that winter day’. The phrase ‘winter
day’ paints a very bleak and dull landscape for the reader. In addition to this, the noun
‘winter’ could forebode a period of pain, loss and suffering in the speaker’s life, reiterating
the idea of their lost love. By using the verb ‘stood’ and the noun ’pond’ it reveals to us how
their love has now stagnated; ponds, unlike rivers, do not flow and are always stationary,
just like their relationship.
Both When We Two Parted and Neutral Tones explore the theme of lost love through the
use of cyclical structure. Within Neutral Tones, the poem opens with the image of a ‘pond’
Land also ends in the same geographical place, by doing this it is suggested that nothing has
changed, and it presents us with a lack of progression in their relationship. Alternatively, the
speaker may have not come to terms with what had happened. The cyclical structure may
represent the possible pain carried by the memory of the pond and the other experiences
that remind him of that day. Correspondingly, in When We Two Parted the phrase ‘silence
and tears’ is repeated in the first stanza and in the last stanza. This could suggest to the
readers that the narrator is unable to break free from his sorrow and cannot escape his
grief.
Another similarity between both poems is that they both use imagery relating to death to
present the idea of lost love. In When We Two Parted, this is evidenced when the speaker
links the ‘knell’ of a funeral bell to his own emotional state. The noun ‘knell’ marks the
death of their relationship and how it still haunts the speaker. We are presented with
negative imagery, therefore creating a sense of melancholy. It also illustrates how deeply
mournful and resentful he feels each time her name is called. Similarly, in Neutral Tones the
leaves ‘that had fallen from an ash and were grey’ purposefully strips nature of its vibrancy
in order to create a sense of death and lifelessness. The lack of colour may reveal to us the
lack of passion in their relationship. Furthermore, the adjective ‘grey’ has connotations of a
corpse, which illustrates how their relationship is at its end. In addition to this, ash is burnt
out fire, this suggests that their relationship has died and cannot be revived.
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