She Walks in Beauty (Love/relationships) Flashcards
Who wrote She Walks in Beauty?
Lord Byron
What is the story of She Walks in Beauty and tell me about the three stanzas?
-Highly biased observer describes fascinating beauty of a woman he sees.
-Stanza 1 - Celebrating female beauty - general description, perfectly balanced
-Stanza 2 - Discusses her beauty
-Stanza 3 - Zooms in on her physical beauty
-Ambiguous ending (more than one meaning) - love? - mentions it on the last line showing he is attracted, but not in love with her OR it could infer he realises he has fallen in love with her through writing the poem.
What does the title of She Walks in Beauty tell us about the poem?
-‘She’ illustrates that identity of this woman is mystery
-‘Walks’ conveys Byron believes mysterious woman is physical embodiment of beauty/everything she does she does while being beautiful
Explain what ‘She walks in beauty, like the night’ could illustrate (1st line)
-Pronoun of ‘she’ gives air of mystery- Byron doesn’t know her but is captivated by her physical beauty
-Repetition of title may show he is trying to get his point across of how beautiful she is
-‘like the night’ is simile that goes against normal convention (tradition) of romantic poetry beauty as beauty is usually illustrated through light/day this may show that even her darker sides are beautiful
-‘like the night’ symbolises woman is different from other and may also show she has hidden beauty as well
What might ‘Of cloudless climes and starry skies’ show? (second line)
-‘cloudless climes’ is alliteration that links her beauty to nature and this shows that her beauty is universal (all of her is beauty)
-‘cloudless’ may also convey her beauty is limitless
-‘starry skies’= a dreamy tone and alliteration shows that he thinks she is a dream come true
-‘starry skies’ may also suggest the light of her inner radiance (glow) is lighting up the darkness (almost replacing need for stars) and is unobtainable
-This imagery of clouds and skies creates a mysterious but romantic air about woman
What could ‘One shade the more, one ray the less’ convey? (first line in 2nd stanza)
-The contrasting/juxtaposing opposites of ‘more’ and ‘less’ suggest that her light and darkness perfectly balance each other, just as she is perfectly balanced
-Byron’s use of the exact same number of syllables/words in each half of the line create perfect combination and balance, just like he sees in the woman
-Could illustrate that he admires her beauty no matter what
Describe what ‘So soft, so calm, yet eloquent’ could be showing (2nd line of last stanza)
-Repetition of intensifier ‘so’ emphasises admiration of her physical beauty
-‘eloquent’ shows her beauty is clear and sophisticated (lots of knowledge of fashion and culture)
-‘eloquent’ may also illustrate that she is metaphorically persuasive towards Byron in the way she looks which attracts him to her
-‘soft’ and ‘calm’ could imply Byron feels she is precious
Tell me what ‘The smiles that win, the tints that glow’ could show (3rd line in last stanza)
-Byron focuses on one specific detail which is her ‘smile’ further showing how he continues to be captivated by her beauty- believes it’s best smile he has seen
-metaphor of ‘tints that glow’ shows her inner modesty (not being arrogant)and that she is loved by all
-‘glow’ could show her beauty is almost glowing
-equal number of syllables in each half of line shows her perfect balance
Structure of equal number of syllables per half of some lines
What could ‘A heart whose love is innocent!’ show? (last line)
-‘innocent’ shows her beauty makes her innocent to anything- she is truly innocent/pure and above everyone else
-Byron’s use of ‘love’ is only mentioned in last line meaning either:
His attractions to her are only physical so he doesn’t actually ‘love’ her
A realisation=In writing the poem it shows the process of falling in love with not only her physical but inner beauty also, as he realises by the end of the poem that he does ‘love’ her.
-‘!’ shows his passion for her beauty
Describe the context of She Walks in Beauty
-Romantic poet - nature and beauty but Byron liked to break conventions and traditions (expressing beauty as darkness)
-Byron was said to be at a party in London when he saw this woman in mourning (could explain dark clothes) and was inspired to write the poem. She was said to be wearing a black glittery dress which could account for the contrast between light and dark in the poem.
-He was known for having a number of relationships with many different people - was said to be “mad, bad and dangerous” to know.
Describe the structure of She Walks in Beauty and what it could convey
-ABAB rhyme scheme through whole poem links to her constant beauty and perfection
-Enjambment from end of second stanza onto third stanza as it begins with ‘And’ shows that he can’t stop talking about her beauty/expressing his passion for her and this conveys her beauty is on going
-Each stanza has 6 lines so could be representing the Devil as there are 3 stanzas so number=666 and this could represent that he believes he is cursed by her beauty as he can’t stop thinking about her charm and that she may have been made by a higher power like Devil- possible obsession over her?
Who is She Walks in Beauty from the perspective of?
A man noticing and admiring a female in a black dress at a party.
