Poetry - She Walks In Beauy Flashcards
Who wrote She walks in beauty
Lord Byron
She walks in beauty context
Written in 1814.
Byron was a leading figure of the Romantic movement (used nature (usually light) to describe beauty) and liked to break conventions - he talks here about a married woman.
Byron’s private life was very public and he was known for his many relationships with different women.
Perceived as a celebration of strikingly beautiful women.
The poem belongs to a long literary tradition of a man admiring a woman from afar and praising her beauty and innocence.
In the context of Byron’s other poems and shockingly immoral life this is unusually sensitive.
She walks in beauty form
Lyric
Iambic Tetrameter.
Regular ABABAB rhyme scheme- reflects the enduring nature of the woman’s beauty and how she’s a balance of light and dark (I.e. different qualities).
Comparisons for She walks in beauty
Themes of the poem
Love - “Sonnet 43”, “Cozy Apologia”, “Valentine”
She walks in beauty structure
Three stanzas of equal length.
As it progresses, the poem focuses less on physical appearance and more on inner beauty - suggests he thinks this is her best quality.
However, his evidence for this is her beauty - we don’t know whether he knows her properly.
What is the effect of present tense narration?
It makes the woman’s beauty seem eternal.
“like the night”
It is a very unusual simile to describe her beauty - typical romantic image is of light - suggests her beauty is unlike any other and is pure.
It also emphasises her beauty by comparing it to something vast and unimaginable.
What does “cloudless climes and starry skies” highlight and how.
Alliteration - highlights the contrast between dark and light - the woman highlights the best of both .
Imagery suggests the woman’s beauty is pure.
“all that’s best of dark and bright”
Contrast - the woman is the ideal mix of both - she is perfect.
“tender light”
“tender light/which Heaven to gaudy day denies”
Synesthesia - he is so overwhelmed he feels things he usually sees
That her beauty is pure, natural and understated - contrast to “gaudy” beauty which is extravagant and tasteless
Personification of Heaven suggests her beauty is heaven-given
“one shade the more, one ray the less”
Antithesis - the contrast between dark and light is enhanced by the line’s balanced structure.
Suggests she is perfect - the slightest change would ruin her.
“nameless grace”
Adjective “nameless” suggests she is so beautiful that the poet cannot put it into words / quantify her beauty.
“walks”
“waves”
“lightens”
Active verbs which make the poem sound like a lively, real-time description.
Makes her beauty seem eternal.
“raven”
Adjective - There is a sense of danger about the woman - breaking romantic stereotype of beauty.
Suggests how Byron considered women who looked nice to be the downfall of many men.
“serenely sweet express”
“so soft, so calm”
Sibilance makes the lines sound soothing, reflecting her “sweet” thoughts and “soft” smiles.
“how dear their dwelling-place”
First mention of her internal beauty - turning-point - moved forward further by discourse marker “and” starting following stanza.
Shows her mind is beautiful too.
“cheek”
“brow”
Narrator is paying attention to different parts of the woman’s face - demonstrates how attracted he is to her.
“but tell of days in goodness spent”
“But” creates a tonal shift - although she has an ideal beauty, wrinkles on her exterior further emphasise her interior beauty
“Goodness spent” tells that she has lived a moral life - concludes inner beauty
“mind”
“heart”
First stressed syllables in their lines gives them emphasis showing how much the narrator values these things.
“whose love is innocent”
Even her love is perfect - as suggested by the extended night simile.
Could also suggest she has never been in love / any relationships before.
Effect of only mentioning “love” in the last line.
Could suggest he is attracted to her but doesn’t love her.
Could suggest the poem shows the process of the narrator falling in love with the woman.
Enjambment in the she walks in beauty.
Suggests the poet is overwhelmed by her beauty.
“Tender light/which Heaven”
“Dark and bright/meet”
“Nameless grace/which waves”
She walks in beauty topic statements
Admiration - the narrator is amazed by the woman and uses different images and techniques to express her beauty. He loves how she is the perfect balance of different qualities and how her beauty reflects her inner goodness.
Attentiveness - The narrator thinks about the different parts of the woman’s appearance and personality. He breaks down his description to look at each part of her separately. This emphasises the woman’s perfection, as every part of her deserves his praise.
