Page 59 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit

“So We’ll Go No More a Roving”
by George Gordon, Lord Byron, pages 34-35

Vocabulary
roving – traveling about in search of adventure

1. Why does the speaker pledge to not go roving during the night?

The speaker’s pledge is based on his observations that “the sword outwears it sheath,”
“the heart must pause to breath,” and “the night was made for loving.”

2. What is the tone of the poem?

Though the meter moves the poem along steadily and quickly, the tone is sad and regretful.
The poem has a tone of disappointment and almost insincerity, as inferred by the “Yet” in
the poem’s last statement.

3. According to the first stanza, what has stayed the same?

The speaker says the heart “is still as loving” and the moon “be still as bright.”

4. The second stanza contrasts with the first, as it describes things that do change. In your
own words, what are the things, according to the speaker, that we can expect to change in
life?

Answers may vary. Example: The speaker says that the sword will outlive its holder, the
soul will outlive its body, the heart must eventually stop, and the passion and intensity of
love must at some point come to an end.

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