"When We Two Parted" by Lord Byron, Read it and think about it.....

Here is a poem by Lord Byron called "When We Two Parted." It is one of the things we had to read and write about in my English Literature class and I wanted to share it with you to see what you all think about it. I will give you my input later, but first here is the poem:

When we two parted In silence and tears, Half broken-hearted To sever for years, Pale grew thy cheek and cold, Colder thy kiss; Truly that hour foretold Sorrow to this.
  The dew of the morning Sunk chill on my brow --- It felt like the warning Of what I feel now. Thy vows are all broken, And light is thy fame; I hear thy name spoken, And share in its shame.
  They name thee before me, A knell to mine ear; A shudder comes o'er me --- Why wert thou so dear? They know not I knew thee, Who knew thee too well: --- Long, long shall I rue thee, Too deeply to tell.
  In secret we met --- In silence I grieve, That thy heart could forget, Thy spirit deceive. If I should meet thee After long years, How should I greet thee? --- With silence and tears.

So, what do you guys think this poem is about? What happened to the man and woman? Use your imagination and interpret it however you want to. This is what I think.
I believe that this relationship is a secret affair that the narrator was having with a woman. I am not sure whether they were both cheating on their spouses or if it was just the narrator, but either way it was secret. I also believe that the woman was lower in social class than the narrator, that is part of the reason he is shameful. I think he is also ashamed of his actions deep inside, but it was something he could not stop. I also believe that this might be partly autobiographical, and the narrator could be Byron, but that part will obviously never been known for sure. Now here is where I tend to drift off from what most people in my class believe. I believe that the affair ended because the woman died. That is why at the end of the poem he talks about his "spirit deceive" and if they "meet after long years." I think he is talking about if he should meet her in the after-life would be able to talk to her, and the answer is no. I believe something happened between these two lovers that caused the woman's death. There are various scenarios that I can imagine, such as because she was lower in class than he was, maybe his wife found out and she was killed to avoid a scandal. Or maybe the woman was a prostitute and she developed a relationship with the narrator, however she had to continue to make a living and one day the narrator walked in on her with another man and killed them both. There are several other scenarios I can come up with, but the point is I believe that this poem has a bit more shroud and mystery than most people first realize. Yes, we wonder about the relationship between the two people but I believe there is more to the story, and the reader has to open their mind to any possibility in order to see the entire picture. I think you have to read this poem several times in order to get a good understanding of what the poem is about and to allow your imagination to open up enough to come up with different scenarios. I am sure most people will say I am "reaching" or "stretching" in order to come up with my conclusions. However, that is what is great about personal interpretation.
So, like I said before tell me what you think, I still have not had anyone post anything but hey maybe one day someone will. Anyway tell me what you think the poem is about or what happened in the poem or what it really means or ANYTHING YOU WANT TO POST. It really doesn't matter because like I said that is the beauty of personal interpretation, you can't be wrong because it is your personal thought or belief.
Well as always this is Silas Marner signing off and remember my MOTTO and #1 rule in life!!! For any newcomers I will post them both below.

MOTTO: "When a defining moment comes, you either define the moment or the moment defines you!"

#1 RULE IN LIFE: Never bet money you don't have on a dog race with an ex-girlfriend who just happens to be a stripper!

Now both of those are words to live by people. Well that's all for now so keep an eye out for the next post of the life and times of the REAL Silas Marner.


~Silas~

End of my school week , but the beginning of class...

Well my classes are over for this week at school, but now I have to start work on the things due for my online class. That is not a bad thing I just wish I had a little more down time. Does anyone else feel that way?? Duh we all feel that way, I am not sure if everyone is just bad at time management or we all procrastinate or if there is just not enough time in a day. Maybe we should move to a 3 or 4 day week LOL. Anyway, big news I have decided to Go to Graduate School so this time next year I will be teaching a Freshman English class at UCO and going to my classes for Graduate School. Well I just thought I would share my news with everyone and let you know to keep your eye out for my weekly class post, it will be coming sometime between Friday and midnight (probably not that late) Sunday. I had a decent week with class I hope everyone else's week turns out great, good, okay, or decent as well. My back is KILLING me because of the weather but everything else is decent. Oh wait, you guys don't know why I have a bad back I haven't told you the story. Well I will be sure and tell you before Sunday. It involves a girl, a horrible car crash and a bunch of other crazy stuff, that's why I am technically disabled. Well like I said that's all for now, I hope you are looking forward to my next post until then remember my motto and #1 rule!

Carpe Diem,
Silas Marner

OMG I am such a bad writer!!!

Well I have a 3 to 4 page paper due tomorrow for a class... wait I guess its due today. Anyway I missed one day of class and my professor sent me what I missed and told me to follow the directions and write the paper. Well I just finished about 30 minutes ago and I have 7 pages. I tried to do what she asked but with all of the information we were given that we were supposed to write over I don't see how anyone could do it in 3 or 4 pages. Unless they just did a small paragraph per thing, or if they omitted a lot of stuff. I summarized a lot and didn't go crazy with long rants or anything. But 7 pages was the least I could do and still get all the info in there. Does that make me a bad writer, an over achiever, or just someone who doesn't know what they are doing. Well I gotta get some rest I have to be up in 4 hours, I just thought I would share my story. So I hope everyone has a great day and remember my motto: WHEN A DEFINING MOMENT COMES, YOU EITHER DIFINE THE MOMENT OR THE MOMENT DEFINES YOU!!

Also don't forget my #1 Rule: NEVER BET MONEY YOU DON'T HAVE ON A DOG RACE WITH AN EX-GIRLFRIEND WHO JUST HAPPENS TO BE A STRIPPER!

CARPE DIEM everyone and for you gamblers out there, remember all you need is a chip and a chair and you are only down till your up. Stay positive and you will win.

Freedom, Religion, and anything else...

Well hello everyone, I hope everyone had a great weekend and will have a good MLK day tomorrow. I have this blog for my English Lit. Since 1800 class, so I will be posting things from class on here. feel free to reply or whatever. I have a small poem I am going to post and then write about it and see if I can get everyone's mind to start thinking and working. If not you might die, because if you don't learn something new every day you will die, or at least that is what my dad used to say. anyway here is the poem:

The Garden of Love by William Blake

I went to the Garden of Love,

And saw what I never had seen:

A Chapel was built in the midst,

Where I used to play on the green.


And the gates of this Chapel were shut,

And ``Thou shalt not'' writ over the door;

So I turn'd to the Garden of Love

That so many sweet flowers bore;


And I saw it was filled with graves,

And tomb-stones where flowers should be;

And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,

And binding with briars my joys & desires.

My professor asked, "what does this poem argue about the relationship between freedom and religion?" Feel free to answer if you want, or comment about whatever you like. Anyway, after I read this poem I thought several things, like maybe love represents freedom and in religion you are not free to love anyone but God. I also started thinking about religious freedom. Maybe this poem is talking about the fact that true religious freedom is hard to find. I mean this poem is from the 1800's and we still struggle with religious freedom today in 2014. I don't know, I just thought it was interesting and thought I would share it with you to see what everyone thought. Remember there is no wrong answer so type whatever you want. I hope to hear from some people and everyone have a good week.

Remember "when a defining moment comes, you either define the moment, or the moment defines you."

Also remember my #1 rule "Never bet money you don't have on a dog race with an ex-girlfriend who just happens to be a stripper."

Carpe Diem,
Silas Marner

Intro and First Blog Ever!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. As you can see I am Silas Marner and hopefully you will enjoy hearing about my daily/weekly life and adventures. I am looking forward to this and I hope everyone who follows me enjoys it as well.