George Gordon Byron (1788-1824), known as Lord Byron was one of the prominent literary and political figures of the Romantic Period whose poetry attracted the imagination of Europe. Lord Byron was a satirist and became revolutionary in his contemporary period. His famous works included The Corsair, Don Juan, When We Two Parted and She Walks in Beauty.
"She Walks in Beauty" is a famous poem published in
1815. In this poem, the poet captures the beauty of a woman by praising
her. The poet compares this woman to a lovely night with a clear
starry sky and goes on to convey her beauty as a harmonious "meeting"
between darkness and light. Here the poet describes her outer beauty very
vividly and associates this to inner beauty and purity.
Text of the Poem
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes 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.
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.
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!
Summary
The poem opens with a comparison of a beautiful woman who is walking under the starry sky. The finest light and darkness both come together in harmony in this woman's appearance, particularly within her eyes. This tender and gentle play of light is excellent—indeed, heaven usually denies conferring this divine light to the flashy daytime.
The poet continues and says that one ray of light would have significantly declined the beauty of a woman. He praises her outer beauty. Her friendly, beautiful passions play out on her face, showing how pure and cherished this woman is.
The cheek and forehead of this
woman slowly and calmly led to the glowing of all the skin tones. These
characterizations show her inner beauty as well as her purity at
heart. It reflects that she occupies a peaceful mind and that she
has an innocent, loving face.
Themes
Beauty and Harmony
The poet attempts to portray the physical beauty of a woman as the title itself suggest. it presents that beauty as a kind of harmony that is as distinct as it is rare. In fact, it is the main point of the poem that the beauty of this particular woman is almost unique because of the delicate harmony and visual balance of her appearance. In simple words, beauty is perfection achieved through harmony.
The poet doesn’t say that the woman walks
beautifully—but that she walks in beauty. This unique construction helps with
the sense that the woman’s beauty is truly exceptional, so vast and intense
that it seems to surround this woman like an aura or cloud. The poem quickly
unveils what it believes to be the source of such beauty: the woman’s physical
appearance brings together “all that’s best of dark and bright.” This implies
that beauty is a harmony between discrete components darkness and light. Beauty
takes the “best” of these elements and places them in a fine balance.
Beauty, then, also has an air of the divine or supernatural that contributes to this sense of rarity—comparable to sighting a comet or eclipse, perhaps. He says that how only a ray of light and dark affects her physical beauty. "She Walks in Beauty" is a poem that cherishes the beauty and perfection of a woman.
In the form of the woman that it addresses,
it sees an exceptional example of perfect beauty and seeks to describe it, even
though it may show it difficult to characterize its “nameless grace,” as a type
of rare harmony that brings together light and dark.
Inner versus Outer Beauty
The primary focus of the poem is outer beauty but associates it with inner beauty. In fact, it portrays these two ideas as closely linked. Indeed, the woman’s outer appearance is read as a sign of her inner serenity, peacefulness, and innocence. The poet links these two ideas, especially from lines 1-10 which is further presented as a delicate near-impossible balance between light and dark. The poem goes ahead to discuss the correlation between outer beauty and the inner self of the woman.
The woman’s face is depicted as the site on which her thoughts are “expressed.” This could be described as the thoughts strengthening the woman’s outer beauty, or perhaps they speak of a kind of beauty that combines both physical appearance and character.
The third stanza of the poem targets outer beauty, especially the
features, like cheek, brow, smiles, and skin by believing that they represent
the inner goodness of the woman. In brief words, her good looks are the sign of
good virtues: the poet believes that a woman spends her days in “goodness,” has
a tranquil mind, and a loving, pure heart.
Outer beauty is actually the representation of inner purity because the outer expressions, like a smile, and happiness are deeply linked with the emotions which come from inside. Her outer beauty and inner “goodness” are in a kind of feedback loop, each reinforcing the other.
The poem spends
most of its time concentrating on physical beauty, and the reader learns little
about the woman other than what the speaker tells them. Although, in the
speaker’s opinion at least, outer beauty is a reflection of inner beauty—and
indeed, both are in harmony with one another.
Literary Devices and Structure of the Poem
Form
The poem is lyric both in its poetic form and the words written which leads to the melody.
Structure
The poem has three stanzas, and each has six lines. The rhyme
scheme follows the pattern ABABAB iambic tetrameter. Byron uses much of
enjambment.
The Poetic Devices
The poet uses different literary devices that draw attention. He uses alliteration, dissonance, simile, metaphor assonance, and antithesis. For instance, in the first stanza, there are two examples of alliteration in the second line (‘Of cloudless climes and starry skies’) while a pattern of assonance forms around this (the ‘i’ sounds of: ‘night’, ‘climes’, ‘skies’, ‘bright’, 'eyes', ‘light’ and ‘denies’). All but one of these words is brought to the reader’s attention by being placed at the ends of the lines. Antithesis is used on a number of occasions eg ‘One shade the more, one ray the less’. In this line, 'shade' is contrasted with 'ray' and 'more' with 'less'.
