So We’ll Go No More A-Roving. By: George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron.

George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron. He was born on the 22nd of January 1788 and died on the 19th of April 1924. He was more commonly known as Lord Byron. He was a leading figure in the romantic movement. He had 2 other well-known poems which were “She Walks In Beauty” and “When We Two Parted.” We was very socially active and was notorious for his many love affairs and living indulgently. He wrote this poem So we’ll go no longer a-roving as it suggested that he wanted to stop having so many love affairs and slow down on his sex life.

The poem. SO, we'll go no more a-roving So late into the night, Though the heart be still as loving, And the moon be still as bright. For the sword outwears its sheath, And the soul wears out the breast, And the heart must pause to breathe, And love itself have rest. Though the night was made for loving, And the day returns too soon, Yet we'll go no more a-roving By the light of the moon.

Analysis Byron uses this poem to tell the story of how he is feeling. He writes about his unscrupulous way of recreation and how it needs to end is his age is increasing and he feels the need to rest. The poet wrote this poem as he was famous for his many love affairs and his belief that love is very strong, however, it does not last forever. Furthermore, the poem shows the romantic era of poetry as Byron was a big figure in that style of poetry. It shows how Byron pushes the boundaries of romantic writing by making many references to making love.

Themes and Tones. The poem is a very sexual poem. It’s describing Lord Byron’s sex life. The theme of the poem is about how someone wants to take a break from making love and just slow down and let the person rest. This was how Lord Byron felt. The tone of the poem is a very smooth tone. Lord Byron’s use of long “O”s in “Go no more a- roving” creates a sort of “moaning” effect made while carrying out his activities.

Literary Devices. The literary devices used are imagery, similes, and personification. The example of similes are “Though the heart still be as loving.” As the line above says “So late into the night.” This suggests that the “Heart” is still as loving even though it’s already late into the night. The meaning of this might be that they are still making love even till late at night. The example of imagery is the “Sword outwears its sheath.” The use of sword creates the image of the male genitalia outwearing its “sheath” which is the “protection” a man wears while making love. However, “Sword outwears its sheath” also shows how he is tired and can no longer continue like this, he needs to rest.

Literary devices. There are many examples of personification. “The heart must pause to breath.” Personification as the heart does not breath. The heart, which is himself, needs to take a break from all the one night stands and just relax. “Love itself have rest.” The love making has to stop for awhile. “And the day returns too soon.” This shows that the day comes too fast.

Thank you.