AP Poetry Project
by Halle Wolde & Rachel Mull
“She Walks in Beauty” by George Gordon, Lord
Byron
“She Walks in Beauty”
By George Gordon, Lord Byron
Paraphrased:
1. How she walks is beautiful like the night sky.
All that’s good in day and night are in her eyes.
She is more beautiful than the most extravagant day.
2. Any slight adjustment would have impaired
That nameless grace which is found in every raven tress,
or lightens up her face. Her face is where her sweet and
Pure thoughts are expressed.
3. She is physically beautiful, but such beauty
has made her mind at peace and her heart innocent.
Time Period and Style
 “She Walks in Beauty” was written in
1814 in the Romantic period. It’s
divided into 3 stanzas of 6 lines each,
with an ABABAB rhyme scheme
written in iambic tetrameter.
Stanza 1
NATURE
PHYSICAL FEATURES
1) She walks in beauty, like the night
PURITY/INNOCENSE
Analysis:
Line 1 &2: Compare how she walks to a cloudless and starry
night sky.
2) Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
-Cloudless=clear complexion, Stars=beautiful
Line 3 &4: Compares all that’s BEST of dark and bright to
3) And all that's best of dark and bright her eyes.
4) Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
-
- Contrast between Light and Dark elements in nature.
-Nature is PART of her.
She is the place where the beauties of nature meet.
5) Thus mellowed to that tender light
6) Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
*Mellowed: To become less harsh
*Gaudy: Extravagantly bright, showy
Line 5 & 6: She has the tender light that heaven wont let
the most extravagant day have.
She now has qualities of beauty that exceeds nature (a gaudy
day)
She=Nature, Nature=Beauty, threfor She=Beauty
Stanza 2
NATURE
PHYSICAL FEATURES
PURITY/INNOCENCE
ANALYSIS:
7) One shade the more, one ray the less,
8) Had half impaired the nameless grace
9) Which waves in every raven tress,
10) Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Lines 7&8: ‘more’ and ‘less’ suggests a balance that if
disturbed would impair the nameless grace.
-nameless grace=effortless beauty
Lines 9&10: This nameless grace is found in..
-Every ravens tress= black hair
11) Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
-Lightens o’er her face= Contrast of light and
dark. Contrast of light and dark again.
12) How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
Lines 11&12:Her thoughts are sweet and her mind is
PURE
-dwelling-place of thoughts= Her mind.
She is INWARDLY pure as well as outwardly!!
Stanza 3
NATURE
PHYSICAL FEATURES
13) And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
PURITY/INNOCENSE
ANALYSIS:
Line 13&14: More physical features.
14) So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
15) The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
16) But tell of days in goodness spent, SHIFT
17) A mind at peace with all below,
18) A heart whose love is innocent!
-Cheek and Brow=Calm, Soft, and eloquent
Lines 15&16: Contrast of light and dark again in the
tints that glow.*** The SHIFT is in line 16***
**now focuses on inward beauty**
-physical beauties (smile and tints) tell of days spent in
goodness.
Line 17&18: Her mind = peaceful, heart =innocent
 Outward beauty caused her to be beautiful inwardly!
Theme/Purpose
The nearer one is to nature, the more
beautiful they will become.
How we would organize our
essay
We would organize our essay by chronologically going through the
literary features the author uses giving one paragraph per stanza.
Thesis: Through the use of vivid literary features and a passionate
tone, Lord Byron more solidly depicts the beauty he sees in the
woman.
Topic Sentence 1: Through contrasts between light and dark and
comparisons to the night, Lord Byron conveys the image of the
beautiful woman he sees.
Topic Sentence 2: The reference to balances in the woman reflects
the author’s opinion that the woman is perfect.
Topic Sentence 3: The return to the internal good nature of the
woman reinforces that, to the author, the woman completely
encompasses beauty.
Annotated Poems
MLA Works Cited Page
 Poem: Halley, Catherine. "She Walks in Beauty." Poetry Foundation.
Poetry Foundation. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173100>.
 Alston, Andrew. "Coming to Terms with Poetry." : She Walks In
Beauty: A "Few" Thoughts. 14 May 2013. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.
<http://coming2terms-poetry.blogspot.com/2013/05/she-walks-inbeauty-few-thoughts.html>.
 Nickol, Ben. "She Walks in Beauty by Byron." Education Portal. Web.
20 Jan. 2015. <http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/shewalks-in-beauty-by-byron-analysis-themeinterpretation.html#lesson>.