When we Two parted

HEN we two parted

In silence and tears,

Half broken-hearted

To sever for years,

Pale grew thy cheek and cold,

Colder thy kiss;

Truly that hour foretold

Sorrow to this.

 

The dew of the morning

Sunk chill on my brow--

It felt like the warning

Of what I feel now.

Thy vows are all broken,

And light is thy fame:

I hear thy name spoken,

And share in its shame.

 

They name thee before me,

A knell to mine ear;

A shudder comes o'er me--

Why wert thou so dear?

They know not I knew thee,

Who knew thee too well:

Lond, long shall I rue thee,

Too deeply to tell.

 

I secret we met--

I silence I grieve,

That thy heart could forget,

Thy spirit deceive.

If I should meet thee

After long years,

How should I greet thee?

With silence and tears.

     This whole poem is about Lord Byron and his lover, probably the married woman, and how they were forced to break it off and also about the betrayal of loved ones. The betrayal in the poem is her promising to always remember him and for Byron to always be her favorite man but then she goes and has another affair with someone else. It is said that Lord Byron engaged himself in bisexual relationships. They didn't want to break up but they had to. She is shocked and upset, and then angry, hence her kissing him goodbye coldly. He is saying, basically, I told you so in the sixth and seventh lines. Then her vows of fidelity and monogamy are broken. Later, in the third verse, he is expressing how he can't believe he ever loved her, but we see in the fourth verse that he really does love her and still wants her, but knows they can never be together again.
     My interpretation of what this poem is about is his affair with Lady Caroline Lamb who was married to William Melbourne. Their affair lasted for about four months before he broke it off, because of the pressure of society. He loved her, but couldn't be with her.
     Most likely this was some secret love that could not be expressed, it tells us about the morning when they had to see each other for the last time and the sadness Byron felt was less than what he feels now.
"The dew of the morning
Sank chill on my brow
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now."
Byron says that when her name is spoken he feels despair and that all the promises they had made to each other cannot be kept, due to all those circumstances. As the poem ends it says I miss you secretly and wishes that she does not forget him, or her "spirit deceives". To conclude Byron asks her, If should we ever meet again how will we meet, as if there was two normal people meeting for the first time? Or as two lovers joining together once again?
     However, as you read it over and over again, it seems to be about a death of one of his lovers. It seems that the line, "Pale grew thy cheek and cold," is the subject matter of this poem has passed away. Later on in this poem, it says, "Thy vows are all broken," which stuck out at me right away. Because I know that Byron did once have an affair with a woman who was married. And now that she is dead, it appears that both her marriage vows as well as vows to Byron, are all broken. Also this is about a women that cheated on her husband with Byron is shown in the line, "In secret we met," which is quite obvious that their affair was annything but advertised.