When We Two Parted

“When We Two Parted” is a four-stanza poem with eight lines per stanza, for a total of 32 lines. It is considered an example of accentual verse, meaning that no matter the count of syllables in a line, there must be the same number of accented stresses. The majority of the lines in the poem include two stresses; for example, “To sever for years” (Line 4). The exception is in Lines 5 and 7 that describe the coldness foretelling the future, which helps to solidify the mood. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD. The end rhymes, while often enjambed (the meaning is wrapped over to the next line), help to create a driving rhythm, perhaps to mimic the “knell” (Line 18) alluded to in Stanza 3. Byron’s organizing structure is that incidents in the past, such as the parting, can foretell the future, Frances’s current trouble. While the poem never mentions a party or specific event, the repeated “they” may suggest such an event, or at least a larger social network of voices.