intense mental suffering or emotional distress

substituting a mild or indirect expression for something that is considered rude or taboo

repetition of hissing or hushing sounds, often involving the letters ‘s’, ‘sh’, or ‘z’

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines of poetry

emotional suffering, typically triggered by loss, death, or a significant disappointment

Analysing the poem  ‘When We Two Parted’ by Lord Byron

English

In 'AQA Love and Relationships Poetry', pupils compared the language, form and structure of a variety of poems connected by the themes of love and relationships. In 'AQA Love and Relationships Poetry continued', pupils work on making more nuanced comparisons between poems.

In 'Single Poet Study: Maya Angelou', pupils explore how Angelou uses her poetry to present strong relationships to people and place. In 'AQA Love and Relationships Poetry', pupils analyse how a variety of different relationships have been presented across time.

Poetry anthology: first study

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction or discussion of sex or sexual body parts, including sex education.

Depiction or discussion of sexual content

repetition of the same sounds at the end of a line of poetry

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines

when a poet writes about their own life or experiences

Which of these definitions best describes the word 'anguish'?

"Pale grew thy cheek and cold, / Colder thy kiss"

"Thy vows are all broken, / And light is thy fame"

"Long, long shall I rue thee, / Too deeply to tell."

"They name thee before me, / A knell in mine ear"

"I hear thy name spoken, / And share in its shame."

In 'When We Two Parted', Byron uses the extended metaphor of death to compare the end of the speaker's relationship to the death of a loved one. Which of these quotes support this idea?

“In secret we met — / In silence I grieve”

“They know not I knew thee, / Who knew thee too well”

“I hear thy name spoken, / And share in its shame”

Match up each of these methods to the correct quote from 'When We Two Parted'.

All of the steps below are important to consider when writing analytical paragraphs. Starting with the first, put the steps into chronological order.

"When we two parted in silence and tears"

"In secret, we met — / In silence, I grieve"

"How should I greet thee? — / With silence and tears"

Starting with the first, put these quotes from 'When We Two Parted' in the order they appear in the poem.

In 'When We Two Parted', Byron uses anaphora in the following lines: "A knell in mine ear; / {{   }} shudder comes o'er me". Can you fill in the missing word?

two people reflecting on their relationship after seeing some swans

someone reminiscing about childhood memories visiting their grandfather

someone reflecting on the day their relationship ended

someone reflecting on their feelings about an illicit affair they had

someone reflecting on their feelings about the idea of love

gives human qualities to an inanimate object

uses multiple words near to each that all begin with the same sound

begins consecutive lines with the same word or phrase

uses words that end in the same sound at the end of every other line

This poem 'When We Two Parted' was published in which era?

When working out the rhyme scheme of a poem, the first line should always be labelled...

'When We Two Parted' has a __________ form.

"In secret we met, / In silence I grieve"

"They know not I knew thee, / Who knew thee too well"

Match up each of these inferences about the speaker in 'When We Two Parted' to the correct piece of supporting evidence.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction or discussion of sexual content

Adult supervision required

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Analysing the poem ‘When We Two Parted’ by Lord Byron

Lesson outcome

Content guidance

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.