She Walks In Beauty

Question 1

She walks in beauty, like

Answer 1

The night
The night is unknowable and uncontrollable as well as mysterious and dark. He is lost in her beauty and being distracted by her has possibly made him lose his way of what he was going to do at the party
“She” backs up mysteriousness

Question 2

And all

Answer 2

That’s best of dark and bright
He is the dark and she is the light from the brightness. Light and dark go well together which reflects how he likes the idea of them being together despite her being his cousin through marriage. Nothing will stop him.
Alternatively, two contrasts meet which created a soft brightness compared to the harshness of “gaudy day”.

Question 3

Thus mellowed

Answer 3

To that tender light
Stillness and softness
Compared to “gaudy” (flashily attractive), shows that she is soft and has depth as well as internal as well as external radiance.

Question 4

One shade

Had half

Answer 4

The more one ray the less,
Impaired the nameless grace
If she contained more darkness or more light, she would not be the same. “Impaired” suggests she might even be ruined, and as it is “half”, she will still be half beautiful. “Nameless grace” implies that he is attracted to who she is inside.

Question 5

Where thoughts

Answer 5

Serenely sweet express

Alliteration creates a calming sound representing the pure and sweet thoughts in her mind.

Question 6

How pure, how dear

Answer 6

Their dwelling place.
She is pure, but he is not. Byron was known to have many relationships with women, and had a relationship with his married half sister.
Her purity is something he has not had before, and is perhaps why he is so attracted to it, as well as because he knows it is something he cannot have.

Question 7

So soft,

Answer 7

So calm, yet eloquent,

Byron was a poet in the Romanticism era

Question 8

The smiles that

Answer 8

Win, the tints that glow,
Again “glow” suggests a soft luminosity which represents her inner radiance showing
The warmth she has which is created in others.
Possibly sexual heat, but this contrasts “pure” and “innocent”, so perhaps Byron is struggling to come to terms with how he is unable to be with her and how there is not anything that can be done about his arousal. Arousal conflicts integrity.

Question 9

A heart

Answer 9

Whose love is innocent!
It does not seem as though he is sexually attracted to her, but is attracted to her beauty and who she is inside. “Innocent” conveys purity which is usually not associated with sexuality.
The reader is left unsure about whether he is glad that she is innocent and pure unlike him, or if the exclamation mark was placed there to disguise his possible sadness that she is too pure for him.

Question 10

Balance of alliteration in “cloudless climes and starry skies”
Balances of “one shade the more, one ray the less”
Caesura in first line
Balance of enjambment of line 3 to 4 and line 5 to 6
Regular rhyme scheme (ABABAB)

Answer 10

Represents the poise and grace the woman has.
Lines flow - reader experiences poise
Same number of monosyllable again shows poise
Balanced rhyme scheme eliminates harshness and the unexpected which emphasizes the softness of the woman

Question 11

Emphasis on “meet” because of the enjambment shows what?

Answer 11

It shows that the meeting of the darkness and brightness is key. She can contain both - purity and mystery. “Eyes” can be seen as a physical attribute but they can also be associated with the soul showing that he is attracted to her soul.