When We Two Parted

One of the key words in “When We Two Parted” is “sever” (Line 4). This verb has two meanings. The first is familiar: to forcibly cut something, often implying the sudden dividing of the object. This separation can be equal or unequal. Yet sever also means to end a relationship. The word’s Latin roots are akin to those in the word separate—se and parāre—mean “to part” and “to provide or arrange,” respectively. In other words, Byron and Frances had an arrangement that was cut off against Byron’s will, at least in his version of the events of 1813, as written in 1816.

This word also may inform the word “half” in the preceding line. In this case, the word would be less a qualifier equating to “partially” but is instead the result of the verb “to halve” (or to cut). Both these would suggest that the break-up was a wound made by cutting, which has not healed, a fact indicated by how “[i]n silence [Byron] grieve[s]” (Line 26), even though it's been “years” (Line 4).

When a love affair ends, the hurt party tends to believe that the person who ended the relationship is heartless, a common way to deal with the process of feeling betrayed, which allows for distance from the hurtful behavior.