she walks in beauty

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

Lord Byron was inspired to write this poem after seeing his cousin’s wife at a party. At first, he focuses on her physical features like her figure and hair but then he goes on to admire her inner beauty like her innocence. It is like he is trying to convince the reader that his intentions are innocent and not sexually motivated. Byron was involved in lots of scandal and the reader of the day would be aware of this. As a romantic poet he was inspired by nature and he was also very unconventional.

Question 2

beginning

Answer 2

• Byron starts by saying how she walks ‘like the night.’ Byron was a romantic poet and often used nature in poems because they thought that it was beautiful. Therefore, by comparing her to the night it suggests how Byron thinks that she is as beautiful as the night. It makes her sound elegant.
• He describes her as being ‘all that’s best of dark and bright.’ The fact that bright and dark are polar opposites suggests how she is the best thing in the world because she has these two beautiful sides inside of her. Therefore, nothing can compare to her. By comparing her to nature once more it emphasises her beauty and suggests how he believes all nature is part of her.
• He describes her eyes as being ‘thus mellowed to that tender light.’ The word ‘mellowed’ suggests that you are calming something down. Therefore, this suggests that the light from the day is too bright but her light is ‘mellowed’ so he finds it more appealing. The word ‘tender’ also helps to emphasise this as it could suggest that her light is quite gentle and calming.

Question 3

middle

Answer 3

• He describes her as having a ‘nameless grace.’ This suggests how Byron cannot put into words how beautiful and graceful the woman is because it is ‘nameless.’ He can’t describe her beauty.

Question 4

end

Answer 4

• Byron then describes her smiles as ‘so soft, so calm’ and that they ‘win.’ He is using words that suggest he admires her goodness such as ‘soft’ and ‘calm’. These suggests that he has no ill intentions towards her because she is so innocent. Byron is also personifying her smiles so they ‘win’ which suggests that everything that she does comes alive. This links to nature and how everything in nature comes alive which could suggest how her beauty is overwhelming.
• Finally, he says that her ‘love is innocent.’ Byron is reassuring the reader once more that they are not planning to do anything impure because she is innocent and her heart is full of love.

Question 5

form & structure

Answer 5

• Lyrical nature of the poem helps to suggest the women’s perfection and her balance which the reader of the time would have found appealing and beautiful.
• The use of iambic pentameter helps to create the sound of a heartbeat could suggest Byron’s feelings for the woman in this poem
• The regular rhyme suggests there is regularity in how beautiful she is.
• The enjambment makes the poem read smoothly almost like how a river flows. This makes the poem sound almost song like and romantic.