Azhia and Rose
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 mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired 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!
Paraphrase the Poem
Poem
Paraphrase
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 mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
She walks at night
With clouds and skies
Everything good about the night meets in her
eyes
Everything mellows with in her
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired 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.
If you was to take one aspect away from her,
you would impair this nameless woman’s
beauty
This nameless grace beauty is in every lock of
her black hair, that brightens her face
Her face shows how serenely sweet her
thoughts are.
These expressions come from a dwelling place
(her mind)
Her cheek, and forehead
Very soft and stuff
She blushes when she smiles, and glows.
But what exactly do these smiles represent
She is very at peace
And also is her heart, very innocent.
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!
Literal Sense
Sentence 1
Analysis
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 mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
This unnamed woman is being
compared to the night, which is unusual
because a woman’s beauty is usually
compared to a summers day. Her beauty
is compared to a cloudless, starry night.
Her whole appearances especially her
eyes creates a harmony between bright
and dark. The contrast this woman
posses, creates a sense of beauty and
harmony.
Literal Sense
Sentence 2
Analysis
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired 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.
The shade and light with in this woman
balance out. If you were to take one ray
away or a shade away, then it would
mess this woman up. Messing with that
balance would make the woman not
perfect. Her beauty and grace are so
hard to define that they are “nameless.”
The woman’s dark (raven) hair brightens
up her face.
Literal Sense
Sentence 3
Analysis
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!
He saying that these various things on
her face make her elegant. She seems
not to joke a lot, she is more lovely and
lady like. Although she is calm, her
facial expressions are very expressive.
These smiles that the woman posses
are a reflection of her good deeds. This
woman’s conscience is always at rest,
she is a good woman. She is very
innocent, so her love is basically
untouched.
Diction
• What Language is used?
The language of the poem is quite casual as seen in the first line, "She walks
in beauty, like the night,”. Also the language is very vivid, “Thus mellowed to that
tender light / Which heaven to gaudy day denies”. The whole poem is metaphorical
though, comparing this woman to the dark starry nights.
• Does it create vivid expressions or innovative ideas by manipulating syntax (word
order), or semantics (word meaning)?
The poet manipulates the syntax throughout the poem. He uses various
metaphors and such to set the contrast that continues throughout the poem.
• Do any words have other connotations: associations beyond the standard
denotation, or definition?
Light and dark- Byron constantly uses different uses of light and dark to
make something beautiful (the woman) This is odd because a woman’s beauty is
usually compared to a summers day.
The word innocent. Not necessarily saying the woman is innocent, but more
so she has an untouched love.
Byron saying that woman has raven hair. The conventional beautiful woman
back then had blond hair with blue eyes. So him saying this woman had dark hair is
very surprising and almost renaissance. Which was what Byron was very known for.
Diction (continued…)
Is the etymology (the history of a word's meaning) of any word or words
important to the meaning of the poem?
A lot of our poem is written in very simple English.
Gaudy- this word derives from the old English word Gaud, meaning
a trashy bauble, a trashy trinket or ornament. The word actually comes from
Old French gaudir "to rejoice, make merry, to jest, scoff at" from late Latin
gaudre "to rejoice", a descendant of Latin gaudere "rejoice, be joyful". It is
close kin to Greek ganusthai "to rejoice" with an infixed N. (Thanks today to
Kathleen of Norway for this elegant if not gaudy lexical trinket from the
English word store. This is the 1500th Good Word that we now have in our
Good Word dictionary.)
Tone And Mood
• What sort of attitude, mood or emotion does it convey? What kind of
emotional atmosphere does the poet establish/create?
A reverent type tone. The speaker has the upmost respect for
woman. Byron is creating a lustful, admiring mood. The whole time he is
admiring this one woman, which in turn makes the reader feel this
admiration that he possesses.
• Is it happy, sad, humorous, angry, nostalgic, serious, frivolous,
sarcastic, ecstatic, grotesque?
The poem definitely displays some nostalgia. It is if the Byron is
yearning for this woman, but yet can’t have her. The whole entire poem is
about this nameless woman and everything she has to offer.
• Is there irony: a discrepancy between what is stated and what is
meant, conveyed through a tone of voice or contradiction between
words and the matter at hand?
Tone and mood
•What kind of emotions does the poem evoke in you? This is the mood of
the poem, what the poet intended for his/her readers to feel.
It makes me feel admiration for the woman also. I believe that the
poet wanted this emotion to be conveyed. I sense lust and admiration
throughout the whole poem.
Rhetorical Situation
• Who is speaking? to whom? on what occasion? for what purpose?
The speaker (maybe the poet) is speaking. It is as if he is just
speaking, maybe his most inner thoughts. He isn’t speaking to the reader
more so he speaks while the reader is able to listen.
• What is the speaker's relationship to you, the reader? Are you being
spoken to directly? Are you being ignored? Are you overhearing the
speaker?
We are just over hearing the speaker. The speaker and reader have
no real distinct relation. He just talking.
Figurative Language
• Does it contain any similes: the comparison of one thing with something
else using "like" or "as"?
•
Yes. (for example: walks in beauty like the night.)
• Does it use metaphor: a comparison made by direct association, through
substitution of one thing or idea for another?
•
Her beauty is described with the images of a cloudless clime and starry sky.
•
The nameless beauty is also described as “grace”.
•
The woman’s mind is put as the “dwelling place”.
• Does it use personification: attributing human qualities to an inanimate
object or an abstract concept?
•
Heaven is given the ability to deny.
Imagery
• Are there any other forms of figurative language used in the poem, such
as hyperbole, idiom, oxymoron, pun?
•
Simile is used to compare the woman’s beauty to the light and dark.
• What do you see, hear, taste, smell, touch in your imagination through
the words of the poem?
•
The picture of the speaker’s ideal woman is very visually portrayed.
• Does the poem use symbolism: an image that has a meaning beyond
what it literally represents?
•
The “ray” and “shade” could represent the purity and darkness.
The sound
• Does it have rhyme, either exact or approximate repetition of a final
sound?
•
Yes, in an ABABAB pattern.
• Does it contain alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds, particularly
initial consonants (the first sound in a word), either within or between
lines?
•
Yes. (for example: cloudless climes, starry skies)
• Is there assonance: the repetition of a vowel sound in a line or passage?
•
Yes. (for example: like the night)
• Is the effect of these devices cacophony: harsh or discordant sounds, or
euphony: pleasing, harmonizing sounds?
•
Euphony is present throughout the poem. Long vowel sounds harmonize the words.
Structure
• Does it have a standard form, as, for example, of a sonnet?
•
Iambic Tetrameter
• Does it have stanzas: lines grouped together, or is it free verse: having no
formal structure?
•
3 stanzas
• Is there a rhyme pattern: a repeated order of rhyme at the ends of lines
within or between stanzas?
•
ABABAB