She Walks in Beauty By Lord Byron 1788-1824

She Walks in Beauty What do we understand from the title of the poem?

She walks in beauty, like the night    Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright    Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light    Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less,    Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress,    Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express,    How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,    So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow,    But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below,    A heart whose love is innocent!

AO3: Context

Lord Byron 1788-1824 “Mad, bad, and dangerous to know” Byron was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and was one of the most notorious and flamboyant figures of his time. Byron was educated at Harrow and Cambridge and was well travelled. After a two year tour of the Mediterranean, he published his first poem and became a star overnight. His personal life was plagued by rumour: his half-sister gave birth to a child that was almost certainly his, and he was rumoured to have had love affairs with numerous women as well as men. He did marry but the couple separated, a scandal of its time. Byron lived life to excess and ran up huge debts, before leaving the country which was equally enthralled and appalled by him to live on the more liberal continent. He lived in Italy for several years before joining Greek insurgents who were fighting for independence against the Ottoman empire. He died from a fever whilst doing so and was mourned throughout England and Greece.

She Walks in Beauty The poem was penned in 1814 (before the furor over the breakup of his marriage made him leave England), and published in 1815 in a volume of poems called Hebrew Melodies. As the name suggests, the poems in that volume were written to be set to music. They were originally set to traditional Jewish tunes by composer Isaac Nathan. The poem is said to have been inspired by an event in Byron's life; while at a ball, Byron met Anne Beatrix, his cousin by marriage through John Wilmot. She was in mourning, wearing a black dress set with spangles. He was inspired by her beauty. James Wedderburn Webster, a close friend of the author, wrote: “I did take him to Lady Sitwell’s Party in Seymour road. He there for the first time saw his cousin, the beautiful Mrs. Wilmot. When we return to his rooms in the Albany, he said little, but desired Fletcher to give him a tumbler of brandy, which he drank at once to Mrs. Wilmot’s health, the retired to rest, and was, I heard afterwards, in a sad state all night. The next day he wrote those charming lines upon here, She walks…”

AO2: Language and Imagery

She walks in beauty, like the night What effect does this dynamic description have on our understanding of the subject of the poem? How does she compare to other beauties we’ve read about? The sibilance of this line creates a sense of fluidity She walks in beauty, like the night    Of cloudless climes and starry skies; Clear; pure The alliteration here gives the line a musicality (AO3: remember that this poem was originally set to music) and a sense of harmony The second line has two contrasting elements (dark/light) perfectly balanced. Look out for more examples of balance and harmony as we read the rest of the poem. Dynamic description: this woman lives and breathes and moves – she is not a passive portrait of beauty ‘Like the night’ – cf Sonnet 18 ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ This is a break with established convention of beauty being ‘summer’. Is this a deliberate reference to Shakespeare? If it is, Byron is deliberately inverting the image. What is the poet saying here? What is the significance of the simile ‘like the night’? What is unusual about this comparison?

And all that’s best of dark and bright Beauty lies within the balance And all that’s best of dark and bright    Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light    Which heaven to gaudy day denies. Appearance/ face Synesthesia: a mixing of the senses (here, touch and sight). This creates an intensity of experience which can be contrasted with the thing itself (i.e. the tenderness of the light). ‘Tender light’ – a balance between bright and dark; she ‘mellows’ the extremes into a balanced and tender light, ‘tender’ linking to emotion/love What is the poet saying here? What is the significance of ‘tender light’ (possibly moonlight – denied to ‘gaudy day’) here?

One shade the more, one ray the less, This line is balanced between light and dark, reflecting her balance; even a slight change would spoil her beauty Her grace cannot be defined/ pinned down One shade the more, one ray the less,    Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress,    Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express,    How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. Exterior/ interior – both are balanced and pure dark/ light Sibilance: soothing/ echoing the serenity Metaphor: her mind is also pure ‘raven tress’ – another convention turned on its head; conventional beauty of the time was blonde/fair. It also allows him to compare this to the lightening of her face, but this is the second time Byron has opted for dark as beauty rather than light. What is the poet saying here? What is the significance of the woman having dark hair (‘raven tress’)? Think about AO3 when you answer this.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow,    But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below,    A heart whose love is innocent! Another contrast? Blushes Her expression tells of her good deeds All on earth 1. A chaste (non-sexual) love 2. She is not yet in love herself 3. She is idealised spiritually as well as physically What is the poet saying here? What is the focus of this stanza? (Hint: the last two have mentioned her physical beauty…)

Religious Imagery She walks in beauty, like the night Isaiah 2:5 “Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” She walks in beauty, like the night     Thus mellowed to that tender light    Which heaven to gaudy day denies.    Had half impaired the nameless grace    But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below,    A heart whose love is innocent! Heaven is allowing her to display her beauty in the night? Christian ‘grace’ = being granted forgiveness by God Inner purity, goodness and peace – almost saintly! Which other poems use religious imagery?

AO2: Form / Structure

Can you identify the rhyme scheme? She walks in beauty, like the night    Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright    Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light    Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less,    Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress,    Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express,    How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,    So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow,    But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below,    A heart whose love is innocent! Can you identify the rhyme scheme?

Can you identify the rhyme scheme? A She walks in beauty, like the night B    Of cloudless climes and starry skies; A And all that’s best of dark and bright B    Meet in her aspect and her eyes; A Thus mellowed to that tender light B    Which heaven to gaudy day denies. C One shade the more, one ray the less, D    Had half impaired the nameless grace C Which waves in every raven tress, D    Or softly lightens o’er her face; C Where thoughts serenely sweet express, D    How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. E And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, F    So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, E The smiles that win, the tints that glow, F    But tell of days in goodness spent, E A mind at peace with all below, F    A heart whose love is innocent! Can you identify the rhyme scheme? All of the end-rhymes are masculine (stressed).

Many lines are perfectly balanced: A She walks in beauty, like the night B     Of cloudless climes and starry skies; A And all that’s best of dark and bright B    Meet in her aspect and her eyes; A Thus mellowed to that tender light B    Which heaven to gaudy day denies. Notice how the rhyme scheme highlights and balances the contrasts in the poem, reinforcing the effects of the imagery. Many lines are perfectly balanced: alliteration Stars (light) Of cloudless climes and starry skies Cloud-free night sky (dark) (sibilance joins the contrasts; creates fluidity) One shade the more, one ray the less This line describes the perfect balance of her ‘grace’. dark more light less

The poem is written in iambic tetrameter, e.g. She walks in beauty, like the night   Of cloudless climes and starry skies That is… until line 4: Meet in her aspect and her eyes Line 4 starts with a stressed syllable. This is called a metrical inversion, i.e. the usual metre is inverted or reversed. Byron has done this deliberately. One interpretation is that this inversion allows the regularity of the rest of the poem to become more obvious, drawing attention to the perfect balance of the woman in the same way.

AO4/5: Links and Interpretations

“In ‘She Walks in Beauty’, Byron borrows from a long tradition of poetry that praises a woman by breaking her down into her component parts. This approach effectively objectifies and silences the unnamed woman.” “Many feminist critics have criticised this poem for its apparent objectification of the unnamed woman. However, Bryon breaks from tradition by acknowledging that the woman has ‘thoughts’ and an inner life that he cannot access.” Do you agree?

AO1: What kind of love is presented in this poem? Think about: The characteristics of love The representation of the people involved The feelings of the speaker Any imagery or language used The way the structure and form reflects this You can either: Write a side of A4 to explain your answer. Write a detailed plan of your answer. Make sure you include and analyse quotations from the text.

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