she walks in beauty

Question 1

who wrote this poem?

Answer 1

Lord Byron

Question 2

what was Byron most famously described as?

Answer 2

“mad, bad and dangerous to know”

Question 3

why was he exiled from England?

Answer 3

due to rumours of his escapades

Question 4

who did he have an affair with?

Answer 4

his half- sister and fathered a child

Question 5

what is the poem an example of?

Answer 5

romanticism

Question 6

how many stanzas does this poem have?

Answer 6

3

Question 7

how many lines does each stanza contain?

Answer 7

6 lines

Question 8

what is this type of poetic form usually used for?

Answer 8

hymns- associated with divinity and chasteness

Question 9

what is untypical due to it being a traditional love poem?

Answer 9

it does not refer to passionate/sexual love

Question 10

what is the rhyme scheme?

Answer 10

ABABAB

Question 11

what is the poem’s meter written in?

Answer 11

iambic tetrameter

Question 12

when was this poem written?

Answer 12

when Byron met his cousin

Question 13

what awe does Byron feel and what is peculiar about this?

Answer 13

he experiences the awe one would feel for a painting/nature- unusual as he was known for his lascivious affairs

Question 14

what iamb is it written in?

Answer 14

iambic tetrameter - the lines contain 4 sets of 2 beats
1st= unstressed syllable
2nd= stressed syllable

Question 15

where is there examples of enjambment?

Answer 15

in the first stanza: lines 1 and 2- “she walks in beauty like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies”
lines 5 and 6- “thus mellowed to that tender light which Heaven to gaudy day denies

Question 16

where is there examples of alliteration?

Answer 16

“which waves”- 2nd stanza, line 3
“serenely sweet” - 2nd stanza, line 5- also an example of sibilance

Question 17

what does the imagery do in the poem?

Answer 17

triggers the readers senses- for example, “in every raven tress” and “of softly lightens o’er her face”

Question 18

where is there juxtaposition?

Answer 18

“all that’s best of dark and bright”

Question 19

what does the 1st stanza do?

Answer 19

sets the tone of the poem with a comparison that seems almost divine- beauty like the vast, starry night

Question 20

what does her beauty seem like?

Answer 20

does not seem completely physical- her beauty is an aura, a shield of beauty that is she unaware of/ innocent

Question 21

what is unusual about Byron comparing her to the night, instead of the day?

Answer 21

compares to night- not daylight- the tradition for Romantic poetry was to compare to bright nature

Question 22

what could the darkness of the word “night” refer to?

Answer 22

reference to the Greek ideal- the beauty is so strong, it could almost be catastrophic
Helen of Troy was one of such beauty- this woman seems to be another similar
a divine being whose sole purpose in the poem is a shift of Chiaroscuro balance

Question 23

what imagery does stanza 2 convey?

Answer 23

images of Virgin Mary- easy to make divine, religious connotations due to the poem’s structure of a hymn
the lady’s beauty is virginal- the poet cannot find a word to describe her beauty

Question 24

what does the lady reconcile?

Answer 24

both dark and light
appearing both glowing but also shrouded in darkness
the darkness that surrounds her- Byron met her at a funeral- the spiritual darkness
but she manages to brighten even the darkest atmospheres due to her breath-taking beauty
or it could be the expression of the ultimate peaceful beauty

Question 25

what does the line “so soft, so calm, yet eloquent” mean?

Answer 25

unlike the day, the night is devoid of clouds and quiet
when the world stops and things rest
she is not warped by her own beauty and she exists in a world that is to Byron, peaceful- her heart is innocent and her mind is clear

Question 26

what is interesting about this innocence being Byron’s perception of beauty?

Answer 26

Byron’s nature of troubled thoughts- interesting that this innocence is his perception of beauty- perhaps he is so consumed by her beauty that he has now adopted this new perception of beauty

Question 27

how does the poem end?

Answer 27

“a heart whose love is innocent!”

Question 28

what does the final line mean?

Answer 28

he is interested in her inner beauty as well as her outer/ physical beauty
the woman is left unaware that she has become a symbol of beauty to someone witnessing her presence

Question 29

what was Byron a leading figure of?

Answer 29

the Romantics Movement

Question 30

what did the Romantic Movement attempt to do?

Answer 30

dispel the scientific, rational movement’s effect and bring back magic and wonder to a humanistic world

Question 31

what was Byron regarded as?

Answer 31

one of the greatest British poets

Question 32

what is the main idea of the poem?

Answer 32

perfect beauty and kindness can exist in one woman

Question 33

she walks in beauty…

Answer 33

like the night

Question 34

of cloudless climes…

Answer 34

and starry skies

Question 35

and all that’s best of dark and bright..

Answer 35

meet in her aspect and her eyes

Question 36

thus mellowed to that tender light..

Answer 36

which heaven to gaudy day denies

Question 37

one shade the more..

Answer 37

one ray the less

Question 38

had half impaired…

Answer 38

the nameless grace

Question 39

which waves in every raven tress…

Answer 39

of softly lightens o’er her face

Question 40

where thoughts serenely sweet express…

Answer 40

how pure, how dear their dwelling place

Question 41

and on that cheek…

Answer 41

and o’er that brow

Question 42

so soft so calm yet eloquent…

Answer 42

the smiles that win, the tints that glow

Question 43

but tell of days in goodness spent…

Answer 43

a mind at peace with all below

Question 44

a heart whose love…

Answer 44

is innocent