Themes: Death & Loss
English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Love & Relationships, topic 1.1.2
Death
Much of the language in the poem relates to death. Here are some examples:
'Pale' and 'cold'
- 'Pale' cheeks and 'cold' kisses almost makes it sound like his lover has died.
'Knell'
- Lines 17-18 - 'They name thee before me / A knell to mine ear' - imply that even the sound of his lover’s name reminds him of death.
- The term 'knell' is associated with the ringing of a bell at a funeral.
Loss and Separation
Lord Byron emphasises the narrator's feelings of loss and separation from his lover using these techniques:
Dark language
- Byron subverts tropes (recurring themes) of love poetry.
- We would expect that his lover’s cheeks would be flushed but instead they are 'pale' (line 5) and her kisses grow 'colder' (line 6).
- By using the diction (choice of words) you might expect in a less positive poem, Byron creates an exaggerated sense of loss for his reader. The reader is shocked by his darker use of language.
Pronouns
- Byron uses pronouns to establish the separation between them.
- The collective 'we' is only used twice in the poem: once at the beginning, and once at the end. Then, 'me' and 'thee' are used throughout the rest of the poem to emphasise his emotional distance from his lover.
Test yourself on Themes: Death & Loss
What is the term 'knell' associated with?
What lines in the poem contain the quote:
'They name thee before me, / A knell to mine ear'?What techniques does Byron use to show the narrator's feelings of loss and separation?
What does Byron subvert (undermine) to create a sense of loss and separation?
How many times does Byron use the collective 'we' in the poem?