I think that although the 'First Love' and 'When We Two Parted' are different due to the fact that one focuses on love and the other on loss. The difference in language of the two poems is tied up with the theme
Explore the Themes of love and Loss in Two Poems studied, Showing How the Poets Have Used Language and Form to Express Their Ideas.
'First Love' written by John Clare (1793-1864), who was a romantic poet, used verse in this poem, as a way of articulating the feelings he felt the first time that he fell in love. In the poem, he reminisces about a previous failed romance which was his first love, and illustrates in length, the emotions experienced. 'When We Two Parted', written by Lord Byron, however, takes a different approach to the way that a love poem is usually written. The poet uses a quarrelsome style, in which he often uses verse to attack his enemies. This surfaces in 'When We Two Parted', as he emphasises the betrayal felt by a woman he loved. In this poem, the theme that runs throughout is loss of a love, rather than actually being in love. Lord Byron explores the link between love and loss, by directing the poem at an ex-lover.
The title 'First Love' sums up the whole poem into two words. The poet was struck motionless by this sudden burst of affection. The poem does not link a chain of events, but instead is used so that the poet can put into words what is going on inside his mind, and to his body,
"And then my blood rushed to my face".
He recounts how his feelings affected him physically, as he blushed. This explanation of physical movement works with the description of emotional feelings to build up the image to the reader, and involve them in the poem to keep them interested. 'When We Two Parted', also sums up the whole poem into a simple phrase. It gives simple, yet meaningful information, telling the reader that two people were involved in a relationship, which was unable to develop into a romance. They therefore had to separate, even if it was only the choice of one party, the woman, as she deceived Lord Byron into believing she was in love with him even though she was not. The poem does not so much tell a story, but has a first person narration which suggests it is an autobiographical account of the poet expressing his attitude and point of view on the break up.
'First Love' focuses on the importance and power of emotions, which occur when one, falls in love. Its form and language are simple, but simple proves to be best, especially when trying to reveal complex emotions,
"I ne'er was struck before that hour".
This is relatively simple to understand, yet brings the reader realise what this love meant, and how sudden such a life changing experience can impact one's life. 'When We Two Parted', focuses on the loss that love can bring, when one is heart broken. The language used is also quite simple but each sentence is meaningful,
"I hear thy name spoken and share in its shame".
Shame is a strong word, and Lord Byron uses it freely, to show that he was ashamed of the woman, and ...
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"I ne'er was struck before that hour".
This is relatively simple to understand, yet brings the reader realise what this love meant, and how sudden such a life changing experience can impact one's life. 'When We Two Parted', focuses on the loss that love can bring, when one is heart broken. The language used is also quite simple but each sentence is meaningful,
"I hear thy name spoken and share in its shame".
Shame is a strong word, and Lord Byron uses it freely, to show that he was ashamed of the woman, and regrets their relationship. He is also ashamed of himself, because he fell for her, and she rejected him. As the poem is directed at the women, he uses strong language to spite her, and his anger is released in the form of words.
Lord Byron uses the words of 'When we two Parted' to catch the readers attention. Alliteration is applied to give importance to the line,
"Colder thy kiss".
The word colder is used to express the love loss between the two people, and the alliteration is in the repetition of the 'k' sound, to emphasise the emotions. The 'k' sound is a sharp one and as it is said, it feels cold and empty, and like the word the feeling behind it is anger or pain. This feeling of coldness was not only a physical feeling, but also emotional, and therefore it is important. It is used to explain that their love would never again be rekindled. Alliteration is used solely to emphasise the cruel deception the writer felt. In 'First Love' John Clare uses alliteration too. He uses it to pin-point feelings, and to relate to the reader,
'And blood burnt round my heart'.
The alliteration here is used to focus in on the feeling one gets, when their heart starts to race and they get hot and flushed. Blood does not literally burn the heart, but the physical feelings are expressed this way.
'When We Two Parted' uses repetition to define feelings, and thoughts,
"They know not I knew thee, who knew thee too well."
Lord Byron repeats variations of the verb 'to know' three times, in order to remind the reader, that her friendship was important for him, but is no longer and he was disappointed in himself for falling for her, only to be betrayed. The repetition in 'First Love' explains the physical feelings also. These feelings need to be brought to the attention of the reader, so that the reader can understand fully that the sudden rush of affection can over take ones body,
"My face turned pale, as deadly pale".
John Clare repeats the word pale, to bring to the surface the power behind first love. He uses it twice so that the reader does not just forget about that particular part of the feeling, but remembers that the loss of face colour was apparent.
The tone of 'First Love' is fairly complex. The poet expresses a serious sort of romance. There is no humour at the fact that he fell for a person who did not even acknowledge his presence. He uses rhetorical questions to show that his world was turned upside down. "Are flowers the winter's choice? Is loves bed always snow?".
John Clare explains that his world has now been transformed, and reacts to the sudden change to his physical and emotional state. This is also juxtaposition, as flowers are normally associated with the summer, but here they are contrasted to the coldness of winter. This contrast is showing the difference between not knowing love and experiencing it. The tone of 'When We Two Parted', is somehow more sorrowful. The poet is extremely reflective, and bitter towards his former love,
"They name thee before me, a knell to my ear".
Lord Byron expresses his hatred in the fact that he can not even bare to hear her name. When people gossip about her he feels that it sounds as bad as a death bell echoing in his mind. He uses the fact that the relationship was not very public, and once again his argumentative approach to poetic writing emerges as he question himself, about loving this woman that he feels disappointed him.
The poem 'First Love' uses similes to compare the sight of this beautiful woman he had encountered, with things that we would come across regularly, but are considered precious when thought about,
"Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower"
Here John Clare compares her face to a beautiful flower, which people would be astounded by. He uses similes to create a web of imagery, in which we get caught up, and captured by. He is also appealing to the reader's senses here, as sweetness is a taste loved by many, but we cannot taste a flower. The describing word is there, so our imaginations can turn the flower from a boring, worthless daisy, into a precious, beautiful rose or lily. We therefore compare her to a much more interesting object and mould her into a more beautiful woman. 'When We Two Parted', however, does not use any form of comparison, instead uses words that tap into our imagination and create a picture of sadness in our head,
"The dew of the morning, Sunk chill on my brow".
He uses a view we look at every day, to emphasise the pain and sorrow of this great loss. The morning is usually a joyful sight, representing us with a new day, or a new beginning. In the case if this poet, instead of bringing happiness to him, the morning brings him realisation that he has to face yet another heart broken day.
The vocabulary in both poems is emotive and evocative bring our attention to more important parts, but not letting the reader lose interest. Description is an important factor and most lines have many connotations, which lead our mind to argumentative views and giving us an idea of the overall emotion felt by the writer. In 'First Love' the poet uses different words, in association with different actions or people. To describe the movement he experienced, John Clare used words such as,
"Blood rushed to my face".
This is an example of the activity John Clare felt, and he then he goes on to describe the inactivity he experienced. He uses phrases such as
"My legs refused to walk" and "As that I stood before".
These both are used to show that he was confused and disorientated at one particular point. Their purpose is to put his in-activity into words. The experience was overwhelming for him and he had to overcome many different emotions and feelings at once, which was a difficult task. He was struck motionless, and made to realise that he had previously been unable to comprehend the strength that love has over one's body. He could not move, yet explains activity evocative of the sudden emotions; he could not talk, yet explains his feelings in words.
In 'When We Two Parted', the poet shows that he has his mind made up, and it cannot be changed. He is bitter and broken hearted, so uses the poem to help him express his feelings,
"Long, long shall I rue thee, too deeply to tell?"
He is angry at the fact that the relationship has ended, but is also upset, because he was happy with it before it fell apart. He feels foolish because he has only just become aware that the whole relationship was based on an illusion, and as he has only just discovered it, he feels regretful, ashamed, and is grieving.
In both poems there is also a regular rhyming scheme, they have simple, poetic forms, yet they have different purposes. In 'First Love' and 'When We Two Parted', there is an alternate rhyme scheme, in which every second line rhymes. 'First Love' has a song-like rhythm, which is evident throughout. The purpose of this is to make the reader taken-aback by the descriptive words, and entwine them into the emotion. 'When We Two Parted' has an unusual content, with a theme of loss and a bitter tone. This tone is unusual, and therefore interesting, because it is nature to be curious of the unknown and interested in the new. At the end of 'First Love' there is a disruption to the rhythm and harmony mimicking the change in the physical and emotional state of the writer.
The two poems overall have quite a similar form, although they put across different viewpoints. They also use different ways of verbalising their point of view, such as alliteration and similes. Both poems are very affective in catching the reader's attention and interesting them. I think that although the 'First Love' and 'When We Two Parted' are different due to the fact that one focuses on love and the other on loss. The difference in language of the two poems is tied up with the theme, simple and traditional words, used in a different tone and for different purposes for the two poems.
