Sen ve Ben Ayrıldığımızda When we two parted

Sen ve ben ayrıldığımızda When we two parted

Sessiz ve ağlamaklıydık In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
Kırılmıştı kalplerimiz
To sever for years,
Kalacağımız için ayrı bundan sonra
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Kaybettin yanaklarının kırmızısını,
Colder thy kiss;
döndüler sanki buza Truly that hour foretold
Buzdan da soğuktu artık, Sorrow to this.
verdiğin öpücüklerin bana
Şimdi hissetiğim bu acı
O zamanlar söylenmişti sanki bana The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow—
Alnıma düşen sabahın soğuk çiyi It felt like the warning
Uyarmıştı beni önceden, Of what I feel now.
hissettiklerim için şimdi, Thy vows are all broken,
Bozdun bütün sözlerini And light is thy fame;
Düşürdün üstüne gölge I hear thy name spoken,
Duyuyorum adının anıldığını And share in its shame.
Olurken utancının ortağı

Adın anıldığında etrafımda They name thee before me,

A knell to mine ear;
Çalar bir cenaze çanı sanki kulağımda,
A shudder comes o'er me—
Neden sevdim ki seni bu denli?
Why wert thou so dear?
Onlar tanımıyorlar seni, benim tanıdığım gibi
They know not I knew thee,
Ve ben tanıyorum, herkesten daha çok seni: Who knew thee too well—
Daha ne kadar sürecek bu pişmalık, Long, long shall I rue thee,
sevdiğim için seni Too deeply to tell.
Söyleyebilsem keşke ne zaman biteceğini

Ne varsa aramızda yaşandı gizliden In secret we met—

Bu yüzden verdiğin bu acıyı In silence I grieve,
Şimdi çekmek zorundayım kimseye hissettirmeden That thy heart could forget,
Nasıl unutabilirsin, sevmezsin artık beni? Thy spirit deceive.
Oysa inandırmıştın nasıl da sevdiğine beni If I should meet thee
Olur da karşılaşırsak yıllar sonra eğer, After long years,
Nasıl selamlamalıyım seni? How should I greet thee?—
Sessizlik ve gözyaşıyla belki. With silence and tears.
Romanticism, which dates from the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries and even continues
today, emerged against Neo-Classicism. Unlike Neo-Classicism, which emphasizes order,
reason, and restraint, Romanticism emphasizes imagination and emotion, which opens the
door to the road of freedom for poets. The Romantic period, which starts with the publication
of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798, stands for
an aim to abandon artificial language and adopt a daily language through which a poet's poem
can be more a part of the reader's life. In the Lyrical Ballads, it is also emphasized that
imagination must be a way of expression of human feelings rather than reason. While what
Aristotle believes is poetry must be considered the imitation of human actions, William
Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge believe poetry must express human feelings
through imagination. Therefore main themes in the poem should be nature or the poet’s
subjective feelings. Most of the leading poets in the Romantic period use subjectivity and
personal feelings as themes in their poems. For example, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley,
and William Wordsworth can be considered as the poets who write poems on human feelings
and experiences in the Romantic period. Along with Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and
William Wordsworth, the English Romantic period poets can be listed as William Blake,
William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Keats.
Among all English Romantic period poets, Lord Byron was the only one whose poems are
away from the unreality images emphasized through imagination. Even if he was a Romantic
poet, he wrote his poems in a realistic way which he covers issues from real life as he saw in
his environment. Being an extraordinary poet Lord Byron was one of the most inspiring and
famous poets of the English Romantic period. Lord Byron mostly focused on his feelings and
experiences rather than nature and social matters in his poems. As he presents his experiences
and feelings in his poems ‘’When We Two Parted’’ can be considered as an example that
covers the elements of the Romanticism movement.
‘’When We Two Parted’’ is thought to describe the forbidden relationship between Lady
Frances Wedderburn Webster who is already married, and Lord Byron. As it is a forbidden
relationship, the moods expressed in the poem are sadness, anger, shame, and frustration
through which conveys the theme that a feeling of lover’s loss that comes with a betrayal of
the person you love. With its mood and theme ‘’When We Two Parted’’ is a total example of
a Romantic period poem. On the other hand, the language and rhetorical devices used in the
poem exemplify another feature of the Romantic period poem. The language used in the poem
“When We Two Parted” is a literary ornamented version of a daily language with a first-
person narrative style which gives a clue that this poem may be about the poet’s himself. The
poem “When We Two Parted” formed as a four stanza with eight lines in each and rhymed
with different schemes. In A Defence of Poetry, Shelley argues that the rhythmic use of
language acts as a transmitter, creating harmony and unity. She also argued that since the
poem and the subjects it expresses are from life, the language used in poetry should also be
from life, so that what is meant to be told will reach the reader correctly. As Shelley argues
using a daily language with the rhythmic way “When We Two Parted” makes us understand
what the poet wants to tell.
 In the first stanza, “When We Two Parted” (line 1) reveals that their relationship is over with
“silence and tears” (line 2), ‘’Half broken-hearted’’ (line 3) he says that as they are now
broken, ‘’ To sever for years,” coming years will be painful for them. “Pale grew thy cheek
and cold,” (line 4), “Colder thy kiss;” (line5) before they were parted the speaker’s lover
becomes cold as if her feelings died for him which is imagery used for death, “Truly that hour
foretold” (line 6) the speaker personifies his lover’s died feelings as a message what he is now
experiencing as a pain “Sorrow to this”(line 7).
The second stanza continues with imagery “The dew of the morning (line 8), “Sunk chill on
my brow” (line 9), now he realizes that this chill, as a simile, was a warning for him “It felt
like the warning” (line 10), what he now feels “Of what I feel now.” (line 11), then he says
that his lover made some promises but she did not keep “Thy vows are all broken,” (line 12),
therefore he says her reputation is now bad “And light is thy fame:” (line 13), the speaker
says he hears her name “I hear thy name spoken,” (line 14), and as they had a relationship
once he feels embarrassed “And share in its shame.” (line 15).
In the third stanza, the speaker says when he hears her name “They name thee before me,”
(line 16), he feels like her name as if a bell “A knell to mine ear;” (line 17), since they are
broken and he feels sorrow, a bell sounds like a harbinger of death for him “A shudder comes
o’er me–“ (line 18), then he asks himself a metophoric question why he has loved her so
much “Why wert thou so dear?” (line 19), and the speaker reveals even if they are broken and
she has an affair with someone no one will know her as he knows “They know not I knew
thee,” (line 20) because the speaker knows her more than everyone “Who knew thee so
well–“ (line 21), with a repetition of the word ‘’long’’ the speaker emphasizes how he feels
regret because of their forbidden relationship even if he feels sorrow because they are parted
“Long, long I shall rue thee,” (line 22), then he says he will never be able to “Too deeply to
tell.” (line 23).
In the fourth stanza, he refers to their forbidden relationship, their affair was a secret between
them “In secret, we met—“ (line 24), because of their secret relationship he cannot talk about
his pain with anyone and he has to experience his sorrow all alone “In silence, I grieve,” (line
25), the speaker complains while he is in pain, how she can forget him “That thy heart could
forget,” (line 26), and the speaker says how she made him believe she was in love once “Thy
spirit deceive.” (line 27), at the end he says they will meet one day “If I should meet thee”
(line 28) but after long years “After long years,” (line 29) and when they meet he will greet
her “How should I greet thee?” (line 30) like the once when they are separated “With silence
and tears.” (line 31)
“When We Two Parted” written by Lord Byron is a romantic lyric poem. The poem “When
We Two Parted”, as a lyric form, is used as a way of expression and depiction of the poet’s
emotions and thoughts. Instead of telling a story, or depicting nature, Lord Byron keeps his
poem subjective and focuses on his own feelings and experiences. “When We Two Parted”
rather than an artificial way of expression with a restrained language, uses a spontaneous and
life-like natural dictation that embodies simplicity in its narrative style. On the other hand, the
poem “When We Two Parted” includes literary devices, one of the other elements of the
Romanticism movement, which make the poem an English Romantintic period poem.
References
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “A Defence of Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley.” Poetry Foundation,
Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69388/a-defence-of-poetry.
Wordsworth, William, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Preface to Lyrical Ballads.
https://faculty.csbsju.edu/dbeach/beautytruth/Wordsworth-PrefaceLB.pdf.
Byron, George Gordon. “When We Two Parted by George Gordon Byron.” By George
Gordon Byron - Famous Poems, Famous Poets. - All Poetry, https://allpoetry.com/When-We-
Two-Parted.
Adams, Hazard. Critical Theory Since Plato. https://media.oiipdf.com/pdf/efa48eaa-a766-
4a3e-82ec-33525becc09f.pdf.