Explore the themes of love and loss in at least two if the poems studied, showing how the poets have used language and form to express their ideas.
The poem “First Love” was written by John Clare, it was based upon his first love that he eventually became obsessed with. “When We Two Parted” written by Lord Byron a know womaniser in his time and a famous poet while alive wrote this poem to get revenge on a woman who he seemed to love. Both poems are based upon love and loss of it. Each poem however is different, in “First Love” John Clare has fallen in love with some he does not know whereas in “When We Two Parted” Lord Byron is writing about the women who he seemed to have cared for but because she was married left him.
The two poems in question have very different tones. "When We Two Parted" has a fairly bitter tone Byron seems to regret being with this woman as it was a secret affair after which she left him to go back to her husband. He also feels the shame of being with her and that he did not see what was coming from the change in her actions.
“Colder thy kiss”
Suggesting that her kisses were once passionate and now she is withdrawing herself from him indicating that she wants to end the relationship with him. He regrets that he did not see this and every time he hears her name he feels shameful that he knew her and that he loved/liked her. This also shows that he is hurt by her actions. However he does not want to be seen as hurt as he contains his pride throughout the poem. Clare on the other hand has a rather sad tone as the woman he loved from the second he saw her did not even know how he felt and probably never knew how he felt because he did not have the courage to speak to her.
Both "First Love" and "When We Two Parted" have a constant rhyme scheme of alternations of lines and they both have a fairly constant rhythm in a songlike or lullaby form. Each author uses this for different purposes. Byron’s "When We Two Parted" has a constant...