So We’ll Go No More A-Roving.
By: George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron.
George Gordon Byron, Lord
Byron.
He was born on the 22nd of January 1788 and died on the
19th of April 1924.
He was more commonly known as Lord Byron.
He was a leading figure in the romantic movement.
He had 2 other well-known poems which were “She Walks
In Beauty” and “When We Two Parted.”
We was very socially active and was notorious for his many
love affairs and living indulgently.
He wrote this poem So we’ll go no longer a-roving as it
suggested that he wanted to stop having so many love affairs
and slow down on his sex life.
The poem.
SO, we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.
For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.
Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.
Analysis
Byron uses this poem to tell the story of how he is
feeling. He writes about his unscrupulous way of
recreation and how it needs to end is his age is
increasing and he feels the need to rest. The poet wrote
this poem as he was famous for his many love affairs
and his belief that love is very strong, however, it does
not last forever. Furthermore, the poem shows the
romantic era of poetry as Byron was a big figure in that
style of poetry. It shows how Byron pushes the
boundaries of romantic writing by making many
references to making love.
Themes and Tones.
The poem is a very sexual poem. It’s describing Lord
Byron’s sex life.
The theme of the poem is about how someone wants
to take a break from making love and just slow down
and let the person rest. This was how Lord Byron felt.
The tone of the poem is a very smooth tone.
Lord Byron’s use of long “O”s in “Go no more aroving” creates a sort of “moaning” effect made while
carrying out his activities.
Literary Devices.
The literary devices used are imagery, similes, and
personification.
The example of similes are “Though the heart still be as
loving.” As the line above says “So late into the night.” This
suggests that the “Heart” is still as loving even though it’s
already late into the night. The meaning of this might be
that they are still making love even till late at night.
The example of imagery is the “Sword outwears its sheath.”
The use of sword creates the image of the male genitalia
outwearing its “sheath” which is the “protection” a man
wears while making love. However, “Sword outwears its
sheath” also shows how he is tired and can no longer
continue like this, he needs to rest.
Literary devices.
There are many examples of personification.
“The heart must pause to breath.” Personification as
the heart does not breath. The heart, which is himself,
needs to take a break from all the one night stands and
just relax.
“Love itself have rest.” The love making has to stop for
awhile.
“And the day returns too soon.” This shows that the
day comes too fast.
Thank you.