它
比
那
光
亮
柔
和
而
幽
暗
。
耀
目
的
白
天
只
嫌
光
太
强
，
明
与
暗
的
最
美
妙
的
色
泽
她一
走
在
美
她
的
走
光
在
彩
美
中
的
，
光
象
彩
夜
中
晚
在
皎
她
洁
的
无
仪
云
容
而
和
且
秋
繁
波
星
里
漫
呈
天
现
；
：
It was inspired by Mrs. Wilmot, Byron's cousin,
when he saw her wearing a spangled dress
二
增加或减少一份明与暗
就会损害这难言的美。
美波动在她乌黑的发上，
或者散布淡淡的光辉
在那脸庞，恬静的思绪
指明它的来处纯洁而珍贵。
Background about the Poem
This is by far, the most quoted poem
of Lord Byron's. It was inspired by
Mrs. Wilmot, Byron's cousin, when he
saw her wearing a spangled dress at
Lady Sitwell's party in June, 1814.
Byron's friend, James W. Webster, had
written about the event . . . .
她
的
心
充
溢
着
真
纯
的
爱
情
！
她
的
头
脑
安
于
世
间
的
一
切
，
都
在
说
明
一
个
善
良
的
生
命
：
那
迷
人
的
微
笑
，
那
容
颜
的
光
彩
，
如
此
温
和
，
平
静
，
而
又
脉
脉
含
情
呵三
，
那
额
际
，
那
鲜
艳
的
面
颊
，
"I did take him to Lady Sitwell's party in
Seymour Road. He there for the first time
saw his cousin, the Beautiful Mrs. Wilmot.
When we returned to his rooms in Albany, he
said little, but desired Fletcher to give him a
tumbler of Brandy, which he drank at once to
Mrs. Wilmot's health, then retired to rest,
and was, I heard afterwards, in a sad state all
night. The next day he wrote those charming
lines upon her --She walks in Beauty like the
Night...."*
A love poem about a beautiful woman and
all of her features. Throughout the poem,
Byron explains the depth of this woman’s
beauty. Even in the darkness of death and
mourning, her beauty shines through. Her
innocence shows her pureness in heart,
and her pureness in love. The two forces
involved in Byron's poem are the darkness
and light- at work in the woman's beauty,
and also the two areas of her beauty-the
internal and the external.
the Walks
black dress
that was
She
in Beauty
brightened with spangles.
by
Byron portrays this, the
Lord
Byron
mixing
of the darkness and
the light, not by describing
1the
She
walks
in
beauty,
like
the
night
dress or the woman's
（地方，气候带） and starry skies
2actions,
Of cloudless
climes
but by describing
3her
And
all that’s
bestas
of well
dark and bright
physical
beauty
（面貌，外貌） and her eyes:
4asMeet
in her aspect
her interior
strengths.
5 Thus mellow’d（变得柔和） to that tender light
6 Which heaven to gaudy（明亮耀眼） day denies.
7 One shade the more, one ray the less,
8 Had half impair‘d（损害） the nameless grace
9 Which waves in every raven tress,
（乌溜溜的发绺）
10 Or softly lightens o’er her face;
11 Where thoughts serenely sweet express
12 How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
（它们（serenely sweet thoughts)的栖身之地）
13 And on that cheek, and o‘er that brow,
14 So soft, so calm, yet eloquent（富于表情
的）,
15 The smiles that win（能赢得众人的心）,
the tints（（脸上的）色调） 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!
Theme: mourning does not necessarily
imply melancholy or extreme sadness.
Rhetoric: Byron uses many antonyms to
describe this woman –face, eye, hair,
cheek, brow, etc. to portray a perfect
balance within her , often using
opposites like darkness and light to
create this balance. A simile was
shown in line one which stated, "She
walks in beauty, like the night," which
is also the basis of the poem.
Rime and meter:The poem follows a
basic iambic tetrameter.The rhyme
scheme flows as ABABAB CDCDCD
EFEFEF The poem also shows that it is
lyrical which helps to put an emphasis on
the mood and tone of beauty that the
writer is trying to leave with the reader.
There are various examples of alliteration
throughout the poem In line two it states,
"Of cloudless climes and starry skies," in
which there is a repetition of the "s"
sound. The second stanza contains insight
into "the dwelling place" of the woman's
thoughts, creating an insight into her mind
by using alliteration. The repetition of the
"s" sounds is soothing in the phrase
"serenely sweet express," because Byron
is referring to her thoughts, and her
thoughts are serene and pure.
Motif: the two forces of darkness and light .
He constantly makes reference to beauty
in nature in describing the woman’s inner
and outer beauty both light and dark. For
example, "She walks in beauty, like the
night/ Of cloudless climes and starry
skies." This show that she is beautiful like
the night, which is dark, yet the skies are
clear and full of stars, which are bright.
The tone, relating to beauty, is that
throughout the mourning, a persons
beauty can shine through. The Mood
Inspires one to love and to see through the
shadows of mourning.
Structure:
1. the darkness and light- at work in the
woman's beauty, the unique feature of the
woman is her ability to contain opposites
within her; "the best of dark and bright
meet in her." –outside and inside.
2. Her natural beauty is perfect—the
nameless grace. Reminds us of the
portrait of Xisi by Songyu（楚国诗人宋玉
《登徒子好色赋》“增之一分则太长，减之一分
3. Byron concludes the poem with three
lines a physical description that lead to the
final three lines the woman's moral
characterization.
The speaker concludes the physical beauty
reflects days spent doing well, a mind at
peace, and "a heart whose love is
innocent!"