She Walks In Beauty Flashcards
Poet
Lord Byron
Structure/Form
18 Line Lyric poem, so written to be spoken or sung to music (probably designed to woo the lady as a traditional romantic gesture).
The poem has three stanzas, each consisting of six lines. The rhyme scheme is regular and follows the pattern ababab. The rhythm of the poem is highly regular. This consistent rhythm emphasises the regularity of the subject’s walk but also her faultless perfection. Working against this rhythm, Byron makes much use of enjambment. It is almost as though the speaker cannot pause for breath in trying to tell the reader about how beautiful this woman is.
Context
Byron was one of the leading poets of a group known as the Romantics. Byron is believed to have been inspired to write the poem after seeing a woman with very good looks at a fashionable London party. His poem is, therefore, a very personal one which responded to a personal situation. It has been claimed that the lady in question was in mourning and dressed in a black spangled gown; the first two lines shows how this interpretation would seem to mirror the image that Byron creates. Byron himself had many stormy personal relationships. He was famously described as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. In other words, Lord Byron was what we may refer to as a ‘loveable rogue.’
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow/so soft, so calm, yet eloquent
The repetition of the connective ‘and’ suggests a continuation or a syndetic list. This emphasises how when the poet looks at the woman, more and more beautiful things about her stand out to him. The sibilance of ‘so soft’ creates a tender tone in the poet’s voice and the punctuation slows the rhythm of the tone, as we can imagine the poet marvelling at her beauty and her character.
Thus mellowed to that tender light/which heaven to gaudy day denies
The use of the verb ‘mellowed’ creates an image of haziness, dreaminess and romance. There is use of personification in the noun light, to reflect poet’s emotions. He compares the view of the woman with heaven, emphasising his emotions and how everything looks so dreamy when he looks at her.
Enjambement throughout the play
It is almost as though the speaker cannot pause for breath in trying to tell the reader about how beautiful this woman is.
One shade more, one ray the less
Antithesis: In this line the noun ‘shade’ is contrasted with the noun ‘ray’ and determiner ‘more’ with ‘less’. This repeated use of oxymorons may highlight the confusion in the speaker’s mind as he tries to come to terms with trying to describe the woman’s overpowering attractiveness – something which is basically beyond words.
the smiles that win, the tints that glow/but tell of days in goodness spent
The metaphor suggests that her smile could win any man over, her smile lights up her face and brings a smile to everyone who sees her. More importantly, the conjunction ‘but’ show that her glow is from the inside and is a reflection of what a nice-natured woman she is.
like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies
Juxtaposition of light and dark imagery along with the simile shows how Byron is comparing the subject’s beauty to something vast, uncontained and almost unimaginable.
