Mostly for his distant cousin, Mary Chart, which had “sunk so deep Into his mind as to give color to all his future life” (Moore). Byron wrote many poems of his situation involving his love for Mary, and his constant wish for it to be returned (Propellant). In a great deal of Lord Boron’s poetry, there is a noticeable correlation in theme, symbolism, and personification, which all point to his ever-present, single- sided love. Unrequited love Is a common theme In a multiple of Boron’s poems.
Byron knew hat his love, Mary, did not return his passionate feelings, but In fact had promised herself to another (Propellant). Though she loved another, Byron could not remove Mary from his thoughts and often fantasized about their relationship, as he does in his many poems (Propellant). In the poem fittingly called, “The Dream”, Byron tells of a dream he had about his beloved, in which he cynically points out the fact that she does not love him. He writes, “What could her grief be? -?she had all she loved, And he who had so loved her was not there” (“The Dream – Poem”).
Byron wonders why is beloved, Mary, is upset for she apparently had all she loved, which Byron continues to convey that he is not among the ones of which she loves. Byron dwells on his unreturned love, calling himself an “ill-repressed affliction” (“The Dream – Poem”). This struggle is also seen in his other poems, such as the “Translation of a Romantic Love Song”, in which he describes the agonies of Love, and how he is captured by his lone passion to ensue In a “fatal fire. ” He writes, “My curdling blood, my maddening brain, In silent anguish I sustain And still thy heart, without partaking
One pang, exults – while mine is breaking” (“Translation Of A Romantic”). “Without partaking” is the key phrase in this stanza, for it identifies that his beloved did not share his consuming passion, and therefore she feels little to no hurt while he suffers the anguish of a broken heart. From his love experience with Mary, Byron committed many of his poems to the theme of unrequited love. Because of his ensuing bout of one-sided love, Lord Byron strongly desires true love from another, which he symbolizes as a tear. Audibly, Boron’s poem, “The Tear”, introduces this symbolism, which is apparent in many of his other poems. In “The TVA Byron describes, “The lips may beguile with a dimple or a smile, But the test of affection’s a Tear (“The Tear By”). What he means is: a smile, though nice, can easily be manipulated and deceiving, while a tear is the true test of one’s affections because It Is a created through such strong emotions, like love. In the last few lines of “The Tear,” Byron begs, “All I ask – all I wish – Is a Tear”, which shows his deep desire for someone to express the true affection of love for him.
The relation of his desire is seen in his poem, “And Wilt Thou Weep When I am Low? ” where Byron asks his beloved Lady to weep for him, in which he really means for her to express her love for him by shedding a tear. In many other poems he mentions tears, such as in “The Dream” and “When We Two Parted”. In “The Dream” he recounts his love as having as love. As for “When We Two Parted”, Byron writes about parting with his beloved, in which he says, “When we two parted In silence and tears, Half broken-hearted To sever for years” (“Romantic Poems”).
His beloved, of course, in this poem does not return his love for the pair is only “half broken-hearted,” meaning he is alone in his sorrow, and weeps alone pouring out his love. In many of Boron’s poems he begs for a tear to show him that another loves him, likewise he weeps alone sharing his love with no one. Love is definitely something that Lord Byron holds dear and dubs very important. In his works, such as “The Tear” and “Translation of a Romantic Love Song”, Byron gives love a capital “l,” which signifies its importance.
In “The Tear”, Byron also capitalizes he words friendship and truth, in which he writes, “Sweet scene of my youth! Seat of Friendship and Truth, Where Love chased each fast-fleeting year. ” At the time of Boron’s youth, he explains, friendship and trust were easy to find and ready to stay, while love always fled from him. With his use of capitalization, Byron deems love, truth, and friendship as persons, which highlight their importance in his works. Love continues to be personified in “Translation of a Romantic Love Song”. In this poem Byron also writes, “That Love had arrows well I knew; Alas!
I find them poison’s too. ” Byron means to say that he knew love was risky, but not deadly as it has proven to be in the harsh reality of his unreturned love for Mary. He also writes, “The lightning of Love’s angry glance,” presenting love as a severe passion, which can readily burn the heart, as it has to him. Through this personification, Byron articulates the powerful qualities of love and the strength it has over him, as well as others. In Boron’s poems he expresses the shared importance of love and its qualities though personification.
