She Walks in Beauty
BY LORD BYRON (GEORGE GORDON)
1 She walks in beauty, like the night
2 Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
3 And all that’s best of dark and bright
4 Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
5 Thus mellowed to that tender light
6 Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
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;
11 Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
12 How pure, how dear their dwellingplace.
13 And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
14 So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
15 The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
16 But tell of days in goodness spent,
17 A mind at peace with all below,
18 A heart whose love is innocent!
What vocabulary words do I need to define?
What poetics elements does the author use?
What examples can I find in the poem?
Simile:
Take one poetic element that you discovered
and write a paragraph that justifies
assigning that element to the example you
chose.
Imagery:
Alliteration:
Choose one of the poetic elements and write
a paragraph that explains how that
element contributes to your understanding
of the poem.
Tone:
Rhyme Scheme:
Answer the following questions:
1. Do you think the speaker idealizes the woman in “She Walks in
Beauty”? Explain.
Write a response to the following questions. Reference Byron’s
poem in your response. Your response should be at least 2
paragraphs and include examples from the poem and from life.
What is beauty? To what extent does beauty depend on personality?
2.
To what does the speaker compare the lady’s beauty? What
might “the tender light” in line 5 be?
3. What would have “half impaired” the lady’s grace? What does
this claim suggest about the lady’s beauty?
4. In lines 11-18, what is the woman’s appearance said to reveal
about her character? How is the focus of the last six lines
different from the focus of the opening lines?
5. Do you agree that goodness is an inborn part of beauty? Do you
think people today put too much emphasis on physical beauty?
Explain.