She Walks In Beauty Flashcards
Introduction
Byron sues the poem “she walks in beauty” as a vehicle go convey his veneration for a nameless muse - who biographers agree was his cousin by marriage Mrs Robert John Wilmott, who he met at a ball where she was dressed in a black mourning dress adorned with spangles . Throughout the poem, Byron adopts Petrarchan confections, focusing on the aesthetic beauty and chastity of her beloved, which may call into the question the sincerity of his feelings. It could be inferred that Byron is simply projecting his own desires onto the female subject of his poem, suggesting the poem conveys his feelings of lust and infatuation rather than genuine love. Supposedly Byron wrote ‘She walks in beauty’ either the same night he met Mrs Wilmott or early the next morning, the immediacy of which implies the nature of his feelings lacked real depth or substance.
“She walks in beauty like the night”
Emanates beauty everywhere she goes, establishing speakers sense of awe and wonder at her majesty.
“Of cloudless clines and starry skies”
Simile implies her beauty is as breath taking and expansive as a star filled sky. The adjective “cloudless” implies no imperfections obscure thus beauty.
“And all that’s best of dark and bright”
He continues to assert her physical superiority and reliance. The quote implies that she is so beautiful, she is able go reconcile these two apparent opposites, creating perfect harmony. The reference to darkness might be referring to spiritual darkness or sombreness, as he met Mrs Wilmot at a funeral - implying that her radiance and beauty was further set off by the dim spirits at the funeral, which made her stand out all the more
“One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired
Flawlessness futher highlighted implies balance of light and dark is so perfect and delect even a minor alteration would cause travesty.
“Serenely Sweet express, how pure, how dear their dwelling-place”
Towards the end of the poem he moves away from the endorsement I’d his subject’s aesthetic qualities and begins to make assumptions about her character, implying internal and external beauty are inextricably connected. From admiring her face, he derived that her thoughts are ‘serenely sweet”, originating from a “pure…dwelling place”. He implies he can tell from her external appearance that her mind must be innocent and virtuous.
“Smiles” “heart whose love is innocent”
He makes an assumption that her “heart is innocent” which he derives from just her smile
“Tell” “Express”
Creates impression of interaction and communication, but in mere reality is solely based on her physical appearance
Context
As such, it is clear Byron’s feelings are largely superficial, leading to him projecting his desires onto his female subject without getting to know her on a deeper level. It is perhaps unsurprising that the poem explores the theme of infatuation rather than love given Byron’s own relationship history, full of short-lived romances and scandalous affairs. As such, the speaker of the poem conveys all-consuming desire and admiration for the subject’s physical form, but the presence of more deep or genuine feelings remains highly questionable.
