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 1NATURE PHYSICAL FEATURES PURITY/INNOCENSE

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.

Analysis:Line 1 &2: Compare how she walks to a cloudless and starry night sky.

-Cloudless=clear complexion, Stars=beautiful

Line 3 &4: Compares all that’s BEST of dark and bright to 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.

*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 2NATURE PHYSICAL FEATURES PURITY/INNOCENCE

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

dwelling-place.

ANALYSIS:

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

-Lightens o’er her face= Contrast of light and dark. Contrast of light and dark again.

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 3NATURE PHYSICAL FEATURES PURITY/INNOCENSE

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, SHIFT

17) A mind at peace with all

below,

18) A heart whose love is

innocent!

ANALYSIS:

Line 13&14: More physical features.

-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-in-beauty-few-thoughts.html>.

Nickol, Ben. "She Walks in Beauty by Byron." Education Portal. Web. 20 Jan. 2015. <http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/she-walks-in-beauty-by-byron-analysis-theme-interpretation.html#lesson>.