she walks in beauty- lord byron

Question 1

analyse the title:

Answer 1

• ‘walks’- continuous, permanent
• instant attraction and captivation

Question 2

analyse:
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless slimes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
- Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

Answer 2

• instant attraction, narrated in the present tense- beauty is eternal
• perfect night- no clouds, connotations of beauty and mystery
• simile of night used to describe her beauty- breaks from usual conventions of using light
• alliteration highlights contrast between light and dark- unreachable?
• imagery suggests her beauty is pure yet mysterious- ideal balance of light and dark- perfection- suggests this is better than just being one or the other
• subtlety of beauty (light half dimmed (‘tender light’))- her beauty is the kind that is found in ‘Heaven’ rather than this world
• challenges conventions of love and literature- more beautiful than the sun

Question 3

analyse:
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

Answer 3

• syntactic parallelism and antithesis- contrasts of light and dark enhanced by the lines balanced structure- she is perfect- one small change would affect this balance- delicate
• adjective ‘nameless’- too beautiful to be put into words, anonymous- mystery, outward beauty is expressing her inner beauty- is a good person- her allure transcends conventional descriptions. It is ‘nameless’ because no single word or label can capture the full depth and mystery of her elegance. This reflects the poet’s recognition of beauty as something that defies categorization, existing beyond the limits of language.
• in celebrating this ‘nameless grace’, Byron elevates the subject’s beauty to a level that resists logical analysis or reduction. It becomes a symbol for the sublime, where even the minutest alteration would cause the perfect blend of dark and bright to falter
• her beauty is also shown in her mind- first reference to something that isn’t her appearance
• sibilance creates a soothing effect- just like her ‘sweet’ thoughts and ‘soft’ smiles

Question 4

analyse:
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Answer 4

• sibilance creates a soothing effect- just like her ‘sweet’ thoughts and ‘soft’ smiles
• zooms in on aspects of her face, celebrates her purity and goodness
• emphasis is placed on passive, submissive virtues
• repetition of ‘so’ emphasizes the extraordinary nature of her softness and calmness,
• ‘Soft’ suggests delicacy, tenderness, and an almost ethereal quality, reinforcing the poem’s idealized portrayal of beauty
• ‘Calm’ conveys tranquility, peace, and grace, implying that her beauty is not just physical but also reflects an inner harmony
• narrator tells us that the woman has lived a moral life
• ‘all below’- suggests she is Divine and looking down on earth- unobtainable?
• ‘mind’ and ‘heart’ are first stressed syllables in these lines- ends poem with a focus on her inner beauty
• first reference to ‘love’- innocent because: is chaste, pure and he is physically attracted, or describes process of falling in love- appearance then inner beauty
• exclamation mark- celebrating this

Question 5

describe the form of the poem

Answer 5

• maintains a regular ABABAB rhyme scheme, reflecting the enduring nature of the woman’s beauty and how she’s a balance of different qualities
• mostly iambic tetrameter and uses lots of enjambment- narrator is overwhelmed, captivated and entranced by her beauty

Question 6

describe the structure of the poem

Answer 6

• split into 3 stanzas of equal length
• as it progresses it focuses less on her physical appearance and more on her inner beauty- could indicate that her personality is the most beautiful
• however his evidence that she is moral is her beauty- unknown whether he knows her properly

Question 7

context:

Answer 7

• 1788- 1824
• ‘mad bad and dangerous to know’
• Romantic poet, politician and eventual revolutionary
• a celebrity- famous for both his writing and aristocratic excesses
• involved in numerous affairs and sex scandals (men and women)
• had a deformed foot
• spent lots of time travelling Europe
• was flamboyant, radical and notorious
• well connected in literary circles
• SWiB was published in 1815 in his collection of ‘Hebrew Melodies’ and was intended to be accompanied by music
• wrote this after he met his cousin’s wife Mrs Robert Wilmat (was wearing a black gown like the night)
• rumoured to have fallen in love with his half sister
• was exiled to Italy

Question 8

key quotes:

Answer 8

• she walks in beauty like the night
• cloudless climes and starry skies
• best of dark and bright
• tender love
• one shade the more one ray the less
• nameless grace
• where thoughts serenely sweet express, how pure, how dear their dwelling place
• so soft, so calm
• days in goodness spent
• a mind at peace with all below, a heart whose love is innocent