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When We Two Parted Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. Why does the speaker grieve silently? Why is he so secretive about his feelings?
  2. What is the effect of this poem's strange and flexible meter?
  3. There are a lot of eights and multiples of eight in this poem (four octets, thirty-two lines, etc.). What is the effect and-or significance of this number?
  4. Is this poem about sadness or anger? How can you tell?
  5. Does the speaker seem vengeful at all? Is he secretly plotting something? Why do you think so?