“She Walks in Beauty” by George Byron Sydney, Maddy, and Moriah

Paraphrase “She Walks in Beauty” 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 mellow'd to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impair'd 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! Her beauty reminds me of the night sky. She has the best of dark and bright. Her face reminds me of all that is best between day and night. Meaning: She is as beautiful as the night. She is perfect. Her face is all that is best between the day and the night. If she shined anymore brighter anymore darker it would be the wrong shade of light and the wrong tint of dark to accurately show her beautiful face which shows how perfect, sweet, and pure she is. Meaning: If she were anymore perfect, she would not be perfect. Her beautiful face and calm smile shows that she is innocent, good, at peace, and has a loving heart. Meaning: You can see through her smile that she is perfect and has the best of everything. She is innocent, good, at peace, and has a loving heart.

Diction What sort of language does the poem use? The poem uses Colloquial language, concrete language, and vivid language. Does it create vivid expressions or innovative ideas by manipulating syntax (word order), or semantics (word meaning)? The language is describing the beauty of her face in his eyes. Do any words go beyond the standard denotation, or definition? No Is the etymology of any words important to the meaning of the poem? Yes the words heaven, peace, day, night, sweet, soft, and calm give the reader a clue that he really loves her and thinks she is perfect. Each word represents beauty and grace.

Tone and Mood What sort of attitude, mood or emotion does it convey? What kind of emotional atmosphere does the poet establish/create? The attitude or mood of the poem is peaceful and comforting. The poet establishes an emotional atmosphere through the use of words like: beauty, heaven, sweet, peace, and innocent. Is it happy, sad, humorous, angry, nostalgic, serious, frivolous, sarcastic, ecstatic, grotesque? Byron uses these words: beauty, heaven, sweet, peace, and innocent, to give a sense of passion and life to the poem and to show how much he cares for this woman he talks about. Is there irony? There is the opposition of dark/light, which is repeated in the poem and expresses what is beauty in the author’s mind. What kind of emotions does the poem evoke in you? The poem makes me feel happy and inspires me to love.

Rhetorical Situation Byron is speaking, but it’s more of his thoughts and views of the woman rather than him actually speaking directly to the reader. His personal views and admiration is what makes this poem seem like they are his thoughts.

Figurative Language Simile: Line 1- the beauty of the woman is "like the night.“ Enjambments: Line 2- There isn't any punctuation on the end of the first line. Alliteration: Line2- the repeated cl sounds in "cloudless climes", and the repeated s sound. Metaphor: Line 9- “Which waves in every raven tress.” Line 12- the woman's mind is the "dwelling place" of her thoughts. Personification: Line 6- "Heaven" is personified in this line – “after all, the sky can't really "deny" anyone anything.” Line 11:The poet personifies the woman's thoughts by saying that they "express" things in her face. Personification: Lines 14-15- The woman's "smiles" and the "tints" or blushes in her cheeks are personified when the poet describes them as "eloquent.“ Line 16- The smiles and blushes are personified a final time when they "tell of" the times the woman has spent doing good deeds.

Imagery Light and darkness: Byron presents an fragile portrait of the young woman in the first two stanzas by contrasting white with black and light with shadow in the same way that nature presents a portrait of the firmament—and the landscape below—on a cloudless starlit evening. He tells the reader in line 3 that she combines “the best of dark and bright” and notes that darkness and light temper each other when they meet in her raven hair. Byron's words thus turn opposites into compeers working together to celebrate beauty.

The Sound Effect Does it have rhyme? Yes (the last word of every line in each stanza rhymes with the last word of every other line) Does it use repetition of sounds, words, lines, refrains? Yes (day is used twice) Does it contain alliteration? Yes (cloudless climes and starry skies, serenely sweet, day denies) Is there assonance? Yes (One sh(a)de the more, one r(a)y the less, had half impair'd the n(a)meless gr(a)ce which w(a)ves in every r(a)ven tress, or softly lighten o'er her f(a)ce) Are any of the words onomatopoeic? No Does the effect of these devices have cacophony (harsh sounds) or euphony (pleasing sounds)? Euphony (pleasing sounds)

Structure Does it have a standard form, as, for example, of a sonnet? The poem is a lyric poem and is not a sonnet. Does it have stanzas or is it free verse? Stanzas of iambic tetrameter- the rhyme pattern is in threes. Is there a rhyme pattern? Yes (first stanza- ABABAB, second stanza- CDCDCD, third stanza- EFEFEF)

Bibliography http://www.bartleby.com/101/600.html http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides5/SheWalks.html http://semckinn.blogspot.com/2007/09/she-walks-in-beauty.html http://www.shmoop.com/she-walks-in-beauty/rhyme-form-meter.html http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173100