She walks in beauty like the night Who

“She walks in beauty, like the night” • Who could be the subject of this line? • What do you think of the speaker’s tone of voice? (feelings) • What do you expect from the speaker’s attitude towards her? • What do you think this line means?

She Walks in Beauty Lord Byron

Put the stanzas in order. 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. Thin told k abou t wh first at w and e w h t at w are old Wha last. e ar t is t e he e ffec t of this Wha ? t’s t he m ain t this opic poe m? of 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! She almost seems to be unobtainable and, to some extent, we may sympathise with the poet’s sense of longing.

What could the term ‘Romanticism’ mean? • A movement in styles of writing away from the Find ex scientific and in favour of emotion and the sublime. a Byron emples of whe • Romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on followin xemplifies th re e g emotion and individualism as well as glorification of dictiona words. Use a all the past and nature. unsure ry if you’re of what • This scientific rationalization of nature was something them m any of ean. Beauty: people weren’t used to. Before now, people wrote poetry to educate and portray things like farming Sublime : processes. Appreh ension: • The movement emphasized intense emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, placing new Awe: emphasis on such emotions as apprehension, horror and terror, and awe—especially that experienced in the sublimity and beauty of nature.

Lord Byron

Look at the first two lines of the poem. What do you notice about Byron’s use of opposites? “walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies” Find another example of where he uses a contrast in the poem. Explain the effects of these contrasts.

Example Answer Straightaway the light of stars and the shadow of night are contrasted, which foreshadows the further contrasts the poet notices regarding this beautiful woman. Noticing her eyes, Byron states that in her face “all that’s best of dark and bright”. Her beauty is contrasted to the “gaudy” daylight. What else could you add to develop this response? àWhy the writer is using contrasts àWhat these contrasts suggest about his feelings àCHALLENGE: How this links to relevant contexts (How it proves Byron’s an advocate of Romanticism)

Themes • Use the table to help explore themes of aesthetics, light, and a sense of wonder.

Theme Evidence Analysis Appearance: Byron avoids conventional ‘the nameless grace/ The woman is a raven-haired beauty. The word symbols to describe the subject’s beauty, eg Which waves in every ‘raven’ perhaps gives her a darker aspect as it is flowers or a sunny summer’s day. It is a less raven tress’ traditionally associated with a bird of bad omen. conventional appearance that is described. Light: there are several references to dayand night-time, to aspects of the natural world which create light (stars) and to an inner light or radiance. ‘And all that’s best of dark and bright/ Meet in her aspect and her eyes’ A sense of wonder: the speaker’s sense of 'She walks in beauty, wonder is not directly expressed but comes like the night/ Of from the nature of the comparisons he makes cloudless climes and between the woman and aspects of the starry skies' natural world. The best features of light and its antithesis (opposite), darkness, meet to form something even greater in the subject’s extraordinary beauty. It is especially noticeable in her eyes. In the opening two lines the poet uses a simile (a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to create a vivid image) to compare the subject’s beauty to something vast, uncontained and almost unimaginable.

How does Byron demonstrate the power of the woman’s beauty? EXAMPLE RESPONSE: The whole poem is fixated exclusively on this one person right from the opening word, “She”. Nothing factual is revealed about the woman (her name, her age) As a result, she has a sense of mystery about her which enhances her attractiveness. Byron uses strong contrasting images of light and darkness to convey extremes of emotion. The light presents connotations of her beauty to being heavenly, angelic and awe-inspiring. While the darkness emphasises the woman as only identifiable by her beauty. It’s the predominant aspect of her to the speaker until the final line when he references a deeper effect of how her beauty has affected him, “A heart whose love is innocent!”. When he personifies her heart as vulnerable and pure, it is in the last line when he finally goes beyond her physicality and links his feelings of love as stemming from the aesthetic eventually to something internal.

Interpreting meanings in the poem Read the two interpretations of the whole poem and add one of your own with a reason. Interpretation Reason for interpretation The speaker immediately falls in love The word ‘love’ finally appears in the last with the woman he sees but takes some line of the poem. time to admit it. The speaker’s actual feelings are not The speaker is physically attracted to the directly described. He seems more woman he sees although he does not fall aware of her physical good looks than in love. anything else.

Interpretation of the lines: ‘And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow‘ Read the two interpretations of the whole poem and add one of your own with a reason. Interpretation Reason for interpretation The poet is describing how the light The poet describes the woman’s physical highlights the woman’s cheek and appearance. forehead and enhances her physical beauty. The poet describes the woman’s inner character. The poet thinks the woman’s smiles and blushes are a result of her inner goodness and modesty.

Language: Specifically how do Byron’s words create an idea of beauty? Devices to comment on: Alliteration Simile Imagery Assonance Antithesis Ann ota exp te yo lore ur p this oem firs to t.

Language: Specifically how do Byron’s words create an idea of beauty? Try to make reference to the words which show contrasts that we looked at previously too. EXAMPLE RESPONSE: The poet uses rich and varied language which draws attention to itself through literary devices such as alliteration and assonance. For instance, in the first stanza there are two examples of alliteration in the second line (‘Of cloudless climes and starry skies’) while a pattern of assonance weaves around this (the ‘i’ sounds of: ‘night’, ‘climes’, ‘skies’, ‘bright’, 'eyes', ‘light’ and ‘denies’). All but one of these words is brought to the reader’s attention by being placed at the ends of the lines. Antithesis is also used on a number of occasions eg ‘One shade the more, one ray the less’. In this line 'shade' is contrasted with 'ray' and 'more' with 'less'. This repeated use of opposites may highlight the confusion in the speaker’s mind as he tries to come to terms with trying to describe the woman’s overpowering attractiveness – something which is basically beyond words.

Structure: How can any of the following emphasise any meanings in the poem? Amount of stanzas Rhyme scheme (regular or irregular? ) Rhythm Enjambment Ann ota exp te yo lore ur p this oem firs to t. The poem has three stanzas, each consisting of six lines. The rhyme scheme is regular and follows the pattern ababab. The rhythm of the poem is highly regular. This consistent rhythm emphasises the regularity of the subject’s walk but also her faultless perfection. Working against this rhythm, Byron makes much use of enjambment. It is almost as though the speaker cannot pause for breath in trying to tell the reader about how beautiful this woman is. What effects could these ideas have on the audience?