1. Romantic Relationships
GCSE Poetry Revision
Romantic Relationships

2. Romance Relationships broken down
Longing and desire
Fulfillment/happiness
Loss
Love’s Philosophy
Sonnet 29
When we two parted
Neutral Tones
Sonnet 29
Winter Swans
Singh Song!

3. Lord Byron - When We Two Parted
Language
Structure & Form
Tone
Message
Four 8 line stanzas
Strong ABAB rhyming pattern
Regular rhythm allows words such as “cold” and “kiss” to be emphasised.
The poem moves through time and talks about the past and the present.
Despite the movement of time he still feels exactly the same.
The narrator recalls the day he and his lover parted.
He has been deeply impacted by their relationship breaking down and even if he hears her name it still affects him.
To the narrator the end of this relationship is like a death “pale” “knell”, “the cold touch” all suggest that the end of this relationship has left him grieving.
The narrator also speaks of silence – their relationship was secret and hidden. They were silent when they parted and this silence is contrasted with the words of friends in stanza three.
Grief – the narrator grieves the end of the relationship as though it is a death.
Loss – The loss of the previous lover has impacted him.
Anger – he is angry at the lover’s broken promises. He imagines greeting her with “silence and tears”
Regret – He regrets their relationship because of the way it has turned out. He has suffered as a result.
Notorious for his scandalous affairs Byron wrote this poem to conceal the identity of his previous lover.
The whole poem focuses on the end of the relationship and how the end of this relationship has left him filled with regret.
He seems to be plagued by this relationship as whenever he hears her name he still feels hurt.

4. Percy Bysshe Shelley - Love’s Philosophy
Language
Structure & Form
The narrator addresses a woman
He is trying to persuade him to be with her romantically
He uses nature throughout to persuade the woman
He uses personification to show the natural world giving, receiving and benefiting from love.
Repetition is used throughout ‘mingle’ ‘kiss’ ‘clasp’ emphasises the physical relationship.
Religious connotations – language to do with God. Love isn’t just natural but Godly
Rhetorical questions at the end of each stanza – directed at the female.
The poem is short and simple
Two stanzas
ABAB regular rhyme
Two lines in each stanza do not fully rhyme
The idea of using this structure reflects that nature is in harmony with each other just like the narrator and the female should be.
Message
This is a romantic poem which focuses on emotions and nature. The whole poem is about his desire to merge with the female he longs to be with.
He sees the symmetry and unison of nature everywhere and this encourages him to focus on his female and persuade her to join with him.
Tone
The whole poem sets a tone of longing and playfulness.
Longing: Is presented when his love is not reciprocated, especially when he sees nature working together.
Playfulness: This poem can be read as playful as he longs for him and the female to join together.

5. Elizabeth Barrett Browning- Sonnet 29 ‘I think of thee’
Language
Structure & Form
Tone
Message
Traditional love poem, 14 lines long.
8 lines (octave) and 6 lines (seset)
The first and last lines show her movement from problem to solution at the start she declares “I think of thee” whilst at the end she is “too near thee”
Extended metaphor of the tree is used throughout.
Her thoughts are constantly growing and unrestrained “wild vines”
The tree casting off the vines shows how she wants her lover to be a constant and permanent part of her life. The tree is often seen as a phallic symbol.
Excitement is indicated by exclamation marks and plosive sounds.
Focus on nature is also evident.
She uses imperatives to show her continued desire and want for him.
Longing: She longs to be with him rather than just thinking of him
Intensity: She thinks about her lover all of the time when they are apart. Her language is forceful.
Celebration: She celebrates her feelings of love, she enjoys the way her thoughts envelop him.
This narrator of this poem reflects on her love for him. She desires him and hungers for him. The poem has some references to a physical love as well as focusing the nature and therefore her love is seen as natural. She longs for this man to be a strong presence in her life and would rather be with him than talk of him.

6. Thomas Hardy - Neutral Tones
Language
Structure & Form
Tone
Message
The first three stanzas focus on a specific memory.
The poem ends where it began – there is a clear cyclical structure.
This structure reflects the idea that the narrator has been repeatedly hurt.
Experiences since this event remind him of the day at the pond.
The narrator remembers an unpleasant memory when he describes how his ex lover had fallen out of love with him.
He recalls a day at the pond when his lover’s behaviour wounded him.
This poem has an abundance of strong emotions as the narrator clearly feels bitter and hurt. He uses language associated with pain, death and punishment.
The whole poem is ‘neutral’ and shows a lack of love or respect between the narrator and his lover.
All colour is drained from the landscape as it is presented as bleak and decaying.
There is an element of blame here as he continually refers to the ex lover as ‘you’ and ‘your’ implying this is all of her fault.
Bitterness:
He is bitter as a result of the relationship ending.
He resents the lack of emotion she has shown.
Pessimism:
The bleak mood and ‘neutral’ setting show how his view of love is pessimistic. There is a lack of hope or faith evident here.
Lifelessness:
Lack of hope, life and colour are all evident in the poem. Everything is neutral and as a result the landscape is lifeless.
This is a pessimistic, bitter and bleak poem.
The narrator has clearly been impacted by his ex lover’s rejection of him and the subsequent end of their relationship.
His bitter and pessimistic tone is evident throughout as he blames the ex lover for his bleak existence.

7. Owen Sheers - Winter Swans
Language
Structure & Form
Tone
Message
The first five stanzas focus on the separation of the pair.
They reunite in the final two.
In stanza three we see the turning point as the beauty of the swans and their movements takes away from the depressing and dark landscape. The swans mark a turning point for the couple.
On the page the stanzas look disjointed; possibly to reflect their relationship.
Uneven line lengths and a lack of rhyme scheme further adds to this idea of disjointedness and separation.
Frequent enjambment emphasises this.
Lots of natural imagery is used again here – this is evident as their relationship seems to struggle then improve.
The swans become a metaphor for their relationship – they are part of the natural world and show the couple that their love is natural – the couple end up holding hands – a natural sign of affection.
There are lots of contrasts in the poem as; separation and togetherness, leaving and returning. These show the conflict then the resolution the couple face.
There is one small piece of dialogue ‘They mate for life’ which seems to be the turning point in the poem as the silence is broken and the couple begin to reconcile.
Tension – The opening of the poem is tense, as the couple walk apart from each other, silence looms and the landscape is bleak “gulping for breath” and “silent and apart”
Peace: The latter half of the poem focuses on the peace the swans bring and the peace which now exists between the couple as the reconcile their differences.
A couple take a walk after a period of bad weather, their relationship appears to be troubled as they do not walk together.
They stop at some swans and watch them – the couple end up reconciling.
Swans mate for life and these swans prompt the couple to rethink their relationship.

8. Singh Song – Daljit Nagra
Language
Structure & Form
Tone
Message
With no regular rhyme scheme this poem use some rhyme to create a lighthearted almost song like presentation to the form. The stanzas reflect verses and a chorus that presents it as upbeat and jovial. With little punctuation the poem flows in a way that makes it confident and cheerful.
This poem uses phonetic Indian language so the words sound as they are spoken aloud. Combing cultures and words this presents a poem that is playful and entertaining.
The narrator refers to working in his ‘daddy’s’ shop and this suggests he is young and childish, it also suggests this father has control over him and his life. In contrast this his wife is, ‘making fun of my daddy’ which implies that they break rule and conventions of their culture.
The narrator does not follow his father’s instruction as he, ‘do di lock’ and visit his’ newly bride’ even though his father does not ‘vunt me to hav a break’ showing that his wife is more important to him than following rules.
The poem is almost a tribute to his wife who is rebellious and fun – she makes him feel alive and as a result he defies his father.
He refers to here as ‘my bride’ throughout further reinforcing the love he feels for her, she belongs to him – not in a possessive way but in a proud way.
Love
Rebellion
Joy
Happiness
Boredom
Reality
Hope
Future
The narrator is talking about life working in his father’s corner shop. He has just got married and keeps sneaking out of the shop to spend time with his new bride.
The poem is about the love he feels for her but also at what lengths he will go to to spend time with her defying the rules of his father.
The simplicity of what they share in makes this poem primarily about the woman he loves.