She walks in Beauty, by Lord Byron Flashcards
Summary
- Byron admires a woman’s beauty
- There is a sense of longing in the poem
- it is not just about her physical beauty, he also admires her inner beauty
- does not admit to have feelings of love until the very last line of the poem, he admires the woman’s innocence
Form
- alternate rhyme –> iambic
- rhyming scheme is controlled and regular –> it is perfect like the woman
- lyrical poem, written to be put to music
- regularity of the stanzas reflects her flawlessness/his captivation/ the power of beauty
Who is the speaker in the poem?
Lord Byron, who is a Romantic poet
What was Lord Byron’s reputation?
‘mad, bad, dangerous’
What does it mean to be a romantic poet?
Value:
- nature
- feelings
- beauty
Romantic poets reject reason and logic
Freedom, rebel
Who was the poem inspired by?
Mrs Anne Wilmot who was married to his first cousin.
Where was Byron when he saw the lady described in the poem?
At a party, he was captivated by her and the poem shows a great deal of respect towards her.
‘She…
…walks in Beauty like the night.’
‘So soft…
…so calm, yet eloquent.’
‘A mind…
…at peace with all below.’
‘A heart…
…whose love is innocent.’
Context
Byron’s private life was very public and he was known for his many relationships with different woman
Byron was a leading figure of the Romantic movement and liked to break conventions
Structure
At the beginning of the poem, Byron expresses his admiration for the woman
As the poem progresses he then speaks about her inner ‘goodness’
He ends the poem with the idea of ‘love’, an experience that perhaps brings together both the external and internal beauty
What does the title suggest?
The pronoun ‘she’ could suggest an air of mystery around the woman because he doesn’t know her. She could be anyone.
The verb ‘walks’ could imply that everything about her is beautiful. It is not just her physical appearance that he admires but everything about her is beautiful even the way she moves.
What effect does the simile in the opening line have?
The simile ‘like the night’ could symbolise that this woman is different to all other women he has admired.
Byron breaks the ordinary conventions of romantic poetry by emphasising how attractive her darkness is.
For example, Shakespeare compares someone to ‘a summer’s day’.
Analysis on ‘Of cloudless climes and starry skies’
The imagery used here is romantic and is
mysterious just like the woman he is describing.
Byron could be suggesting she is like the stars in the sky and is both lighting up the darkness and unobtainable.
Analyse ‘dark and bright’
Byron uses a contrast of ‘dark and bright’
throughout the poem.
This could suggest that both ‘dark’ and ‘bright’ come together in this woman to create perfection and balance.
What does the first line of the second stanza show?
‘One shade the more, one ray the less’
Byron is admiring her perfection
‘raven tress’ analysis
adjective ‘raven ‘ could suggest an element of danger about the woman
also Byron is breaking conventions of the stereotypical sense of beauty, showing the appeal and intrigue of such darkness and mystery
How does Byron show he is also admiring her inner beauty?
‘Where thoughts serenely’ and ‘How pure’
Her ‘sweet’ thoughts match her external beauty
What does the adjective ‘eloquent’ suggest?
that her beauty is clear and sophisticated
Analyse ‘The smiles that win’
In the final stanza, Byron is zooming into specific details of her face.
‘The smiles that win’ could suggest that she has the best smile he has ever seen.
Analysis on ‘goodness spent’
Byron is admiring her innocence and kindness
What is the final line?
‘A heart whose love is innocent!’
Why does Byron only mention ‘love’ in the last line?
Could suggest that by writing the poem in the order he does shows the process of falling in ‘love’ with someone and he realises at the end that he does ‘love’ her
