She Walks In Beauty Flashcards
who does Lord Byron seem to love in this poem?
Mrs Wilmont
His cousin’s wife…
who he met at a ball where she was dressed in a black mourning dress.
Purpose of She walks in beauty?
Byron uses the poem ‘She Walks in Beauty’ as a vehicle to convey his veneration a woman he meets.
fill in the blanks - SWIB
Throughout the poem, Byron adopts ………… conventions, focussing on the ………… ………… and …………. of his beloved, which may call into …………… the ……….. of his feelings
Throughout the poem, Byron adopts Petrarchan conventions, focussing on the aesthetic beauty and chastity of his beloved, which may call into question the sincerity of his feelings
SWIB
What can be said about:
“She walks in beauty”
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker extols the physical beauty of the female subject. Through the line ‘she walks in beauty’, he implies she emanates beauty everywhere she goes, establishing a sense of the speaker’s awe and wonder at her majesty.
Note the use of present tense - beauty is eternal
SWIB
“like the …… of ……. ………. and starry ……….”
rich analysis!!!
“like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies”
He proceeds to compare her to ‘the night’, particularly a night of ‘cloudless climes and starry stars’. Through this simile he implies that her beauty is as breath-taking and expansive as a star filled sky.
The adjective ‘cloudless’ implies no imperfections obscure this beauty - it is abundantly clear for all the see. A sense of flawlessness.
The perfect symmetry of the equally weighted ‘cloudless climes’ and ‘starry skies’ paired with the use of sibilance and alliteration also gives the reader a tangible and sensuous experience of her grace, poise and delicacy.
SWIB
‘all that’s ……. of …….. and ……..’
rich analysis
‘all that’s best of dark and bright’
Byron continues to assert her physical superiority and radiance through the phrase ‘all that’s best of dark and bright’.
Here he implies she is so beautiful she is able to reconcile these two apparent opposites, creating a perfect harmony.
Perhaps through his reference to the darkness around her, Byron was referring to a spiritual darkness or sombreness - reflecting the fact he met Mrs Wilmont at a funeral
one …….. the ……., one …….. the …….. / would half …….. this ……….. ……….”
one shade the more, one ray the less/would half impair this nameless grace”
Her flawlessness is further highlighted through the phrase ‘one shade the more, one ray the less/would half impair this nameless grace’, which implies that the balance of light and dark is so perfect and delicate that even a minor alteration would be a travesty.
“thoughts ………. ………. express,
How …….”
Towards the end of the poem, Byron moves away from his endorsement of his subjects aesthetic qualities and begins to make assumptions about her character, implying that internal and external beauty are inextricably connected. From admiring her face, he derives that her thoughts are ‘serenely sweet’, originating from a ‘pure […] dwelling place.’ Here he implies that he can tell from her external appearance that her mind must be innocent and virtuous
what can be said about “heart is innocent”
He makes similar assumptions later that her ‘heart is innocent’, which he derives from her ‘smile.
moves away from his endorsement of his subjects aesthetic qualities
implying that internal and external beauty are inextricably connected.
Notably he uses verbs like ‘tell’ and ‘express’ which create the impression of interaction and communication, but in reality merely convey his interpretation of her character and morality based entirely from her physical appearance. As such, it is clear Byron’s feelings are largely superficial, leading to him projecting his desires onto his female subject without getting to know her on a deeper level.
Notably he uses verbs like ‘tell’ and ‘express’ which create the impression of interaction and communication, but in reality merely convey his interpretation of her character and morality based entirely from her physical appearance. As such, it is clear Byron’s feelings are largely superficial, leading to him projecting his desires onto his female subject without getting to know her on a deeper level.
