Language and Form - Byron

Both “When We Two Parted” and “Fare Thee Well” are poems by Byron about love that was lost between two people. In “When We Two Parted,” Byron is upset with how the relationship went and how he did not anticipate the feeling he would experience now. Furthermore, he describes the secrecy of the relationship and how if he were to ever meet this woman again, he would not greet her with excitement and cheer but with “silence and tears.” Similarly, “Fare Thee Well” is also about a relationship but the narrator, assumingly Byron, is sure that he will be heartbroken and that the two will never meet again. I found the way Byron wrote each poem to be interesting because I would have thought the form and length would be the opposite. In the first poem, “When We Two Parted,” the language is simple and the length is short; however, the tone gives an impression that there could potentially be a future meeting. In the second poem, “Fare Thee Well,” the language is somewhat more difficult and the length is longer than the first, while the tone gives the reader a feeling of permanence. I would have thought with such a broken hearted story, Byron would have wanted the least amount of memory from this poem, thus keeping the poem concise and simple.