She Walks in Beauty - Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) By: Patrick Quiero and Gwapo Delantar to the go and weng

About the Poet Lord Byron

He was considered as an extraordinarily handsome celebrity. ;) George Gordon Byron, commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. He was considered as an extraordinarily handsome celebrity. ;) He left Great Britain because of rumours about him having a promiscuous, bisexual, and insestful life. He came from two high strung and undisciplined families with reputations of reckless living and violence.

His father was a spendthrift army captain and a play boy Byron’s mother was tempestuous, proud, and slightly mad, but showered her child with love and care. He entered Cambridge at 17 At the age of 10, Byron became the 6th Lord Byron after the death of his great uncle. He inherited a fortune and an estate At the age of 23 he published the first two of the cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage and they became very popular He would go on and write 16 Cantos before his death and leave the poem unfinished Byron died on April 19, 1824, at age 36. He was deeply mourned in England and became a hero in Greece.

History Connections Romanticism values simplicity and easiness. That is why this poem is written in basic iambic tetrameter, which is considered simple. Poets of this time period preferred poetry that was in simple, unadorned language. This poem is written in very simple and easy language. Romantics embraced imagination and naturalness. Byron expresses this when comparing the woman to night and day.

She Walks in Beauty   1      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.                                        2      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.                                        3      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!

Menyeng ^_^ Lines 1-2 She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; An unnamed woman "walks in beauty." Byron expresses how beautiful she is She combines opposites (or extremes) in perfect proportions in her looks and in her personality. Whether it is a true declaration of love or a statement of admiration for her beauty. But the featured woman isn't just compared to any "night," she's compared to a night in a place where there are no clouds and lots of stars, or having the perfect view.

Lines 3-4 And all that's best of dark and bright  Meet in her aspect and her eyes: The contrast between light and dark that was first brought up by the "starry skies" in line 2 is repeated and developed in line 3. Everything that is great about both "dark" and "bright" come together in this woman. Essentially, she's got the best of both. If this seems weird to you, think of a really beautiful person who has dark eyes that always seem to sparkle – or someone whose eye color contrasts with his or her hair color in an attractive way. That's what Byron's talking about – contrast that creates beauty and harmony.

Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. Lines 5-6 Thus mellowed to that tender light  Which heaven to gaudy day denies. Everything that's great about both "dark and bright" (line 3) is "mellow'd," or toned down to something that's more "tender" and less intense than the light you get during the day.

Lines 7-10 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; The balance between "shade" and light in the lady's beauty is so perfect that if you added one more "shade," or took away a single "ray" of light, you'd mess everything up. Fiddling/ruining with that balance at all would "half impair," or partially damage, the woman's beauty. This "nameless grace" is visible in every lock of her black hair ("every raven tress") and it "lightens" her face.

Lines 11-12 Where thoughts serenely sweet express  How pure, how dear their dwelling place. The expression on the woman's face shows how "serenely sweet" her "thoughts" are. Her "sweet" expression, the speaker reasons, is an accurate reflection of what's going on inside her mind, which is the "dwelling place" of her thoughts. The "sweet[ness]" of this lady's expression suggests that her mind is "pure" and innocent. "Dear," in this context (and in British English generally), means both precious and valuable.

Lines 13-15 And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,  So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,  The smiles that win, the tints that glow,  The woman's smiles and her healthy blushes ("tints") that "glow" on her "cheek" and "brow" are serene and "calm." ("Brow" is just a poetic way of saying forehead.) In other words, she's quiet and rather elegant – she doesn't joke and laugh a lot; she seems to be more of the lovely and regal type. But even though she's quiet and "calm," her "smiles" and blushes are "eloquent" Her face is very expressive, even if she doesn't say much out loud.

Lines 16-18 But tell of days in goodness spent,  A mind at peace with all below,  A heart whose love is innocent! The woman's serenity and "smiles" also reflect the calmness of her mind. Because she's a good person, her "mind" is at "peace with all below" (everyone on earth). Not only that, but her "love is innocent." This could mean that she's not in love with anyone, or it could mean that she is, but that her love is pure and "innocent"

Writing Style Byron is known for being a mean, dangerous man. His poems are deep, and reflect his personal feelings. In this particular poem, Byron used a great deal of imagery to stress how beautiful and graceful the woman was. However, many thought the woman in the poem was his cousin that he met the first time in a funeral and the poem describes the first time he met her.

Literary and Poetic Elements Rhyme: a repetition of a stressed vowel sound and any sound that follow it in words that are closed together; words that sound similar or the same She walks in beauty, like the night (A)         Of cloudless climes and starry skies; (B)     And all that's best of dark and bright (A)         Meet in her aspect and her eyes: (B)     Thus mellowed to that tender light (A)         Which heaven to gaudy day denies (B) Lines 1, 3, and 5 ; 2, 4, and 6, set up a rhyme scheme to add drama to the poem

Literary and Poetic Elements Imagery: a word or phrase that appeals to one or more of our five senses Of cloudless climes and starry skies; Waves in every raven trees; Softly lightens o’er her face;

Literary and Poetic Elements Simile: two unlike things are compared using the word “like” or “as” She walks in beauty, like the night The poet is comparing the woman with the night

Literary and Poetic Elements Approximate Rhyme: repeat some sounds but are not exact echoes brow, glow 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! They don’t rhyme but the writer used them to keep the flow of the poem

Main theme of the Poem Unlike common love poetry, this poem describes the subject as being possessed by beauty. The woman is beautiful, but it is so great that she is actually surrounded by it, like an aura. To some extent, her positive attributes create her beauty, and the poem makes a point of mentioning her goodness, he serenity, and her innocence, which all have an effect on her look. The woman described in this poem is completely beautiful, inside and out, that Byron goes out of his way to mention all of the sources, to show that he appreciates her beauty to its fullest

Clime (noun) Gaudy (adj.) Vocabulary Clime (noun) Gaudy (adj.) Serene (adj.) a region considered with reference to its climate. extravagantly bright or showy; harsh; violent  unaffected by disturbance; calm or peaceful