I’ve lived the parting hour to see / Of one I would have died to save.
-- Speaker (Lines 3 – 4)

Importance: These lines establish why Brontë feels the emotional numbness that she writes about in the first two lines of the poem: she has just experienced the death of a dear loved one, a sister “[she] would have died to save.” Her sister’s death has traumatized her so much that she must stop feeling in order to go on. The use of the first person in the form of “I” in these lines also suggests the introspective mood Brontë maintains throughout the poem, in which she focuses on the despair of her internal landscape. Here, Brontë additionally reveals the unconditional love she has for Anne. She is willing to give up essentially everything, her life even, if doing so means her sister may live.

Calmly to watch the failing breath / Wishing each sigh might...
-- Speaker (Lines 5 – 6)