She Walks In Beauty 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.



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!

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I love this poem because the message is so deep. Now since this a site for anlysis I know many of you on here came looking for a prewritten analysis I would advise you to truelly analyze the poem yourself because the message is so deep, you won't want to miss out on it.

| Posted on 2009-10-01 | by a guest

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She Walks in Beauty is a poem written in 1814 by Lord Byron. It was the first of several poems to be set to Jewish tunes from the synagogue by Isaac Nathan, which were published as Hebrew Melodies in 1815.
This poem is not necessarily a love poem, but more of a celebration of the subject's beauty. Some critics have said that Byron fell passionately in love with his cousin and wrote this poem for her. He met her for the first time while she was in mourning over the death of a loved one. Thus, in modest black dress (hence the allusions to darkness, with the light referring to her beauty) Lord Byron encountered his cousin, known for her great beauty, and was taken aback. Nowhere in the poem does Byron mention or allude to love.

| Posted on 2009-08-21 | by a guest

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If you read the history of the poem, you learn that he first saw her when she was mourning the death of a loved one. She was most likely dressed in black as that was, and still is, the custom.
I believe he is describing the peace and warmth that follows her, even when she has had a loss. This, to me isn't a love poem, but an expression of respect for a woman so beautiful and strong, inside and out.
-Twiggy
age 15
future journalist

| Posted on 2009-07-20 | by a guest

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he does not explicitly describe her- uses abstract terms (lightness and darkness)

| Posted on 2009-04-18 | by a guest

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it's amazing how Byron seems to find unity within this woman, whether she be his cousin or not. he describes being able to 'unite all that's best of dark or night' within her, just as Yeats found unity between things when he brought together gold and silver.
this comparison seems almost paradoxical which simply expresses his deep admiration for her.

| Posted on 2009-04-09 | by a guest

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loved it loved it loved it. u couldnt pay a man to be that romantic these days

| Posted on 2009-03-30 | by a guest

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It's interesting how a poem written with eloquence can elicit some responses only memorable by their sheer inability to live in a literate world. Do they realise how inadequate they sound?

| Posted on 2009-03-29 | by a guest

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.ELI D
In she walks in beauty, Lord Byron, self expresses his personal view of beauty in woman. In the first line, “she walks in beauty, like the night” he is able to give a unique view of this woman. Night, which is generally associated with evil and darkness, is compared to a beautiful woman, to possibly show that even the darkest things have beauty in them. Even through the darkness of night, light and beauty can still be emitted. Lord Byron then makes the night as majestic as possible, by describing it as cloudless and starry. To enforce the idea that darkness could have light in it, he says “the best of dark and bright”. This seems like a direct contraction, but this was done intentionally, to show that dark and bright can go together, as by the women and the night. The writer then goes on to describe the view of the women, but he uses two words to describe the same thing.(aspect and eyes). He is possibly portraying not only the physical beauty of this woman, but her internal beauty as well. The last word in the first paragraph is denies. This shows that the moon and stars are a privilege, which heaven doesn’t give to day, but to night only. In the second line in the second paragraph, the writer describes the woman as “half impaired”. This is odd, because the writer was trying to portray a perfect woman in the night. This shows that regardless of how perfect one may seem they still have imperfections. The writer uses soothing relaxing words throughout the poem, like softly, tender, pure, calm, eloquent, waves, and peace. These all give the poem a relaxing feel to it, to help describe the perfection of the women. Lastly the writer purposely gives us an insight into the woman’s mind, (alliteration) to make us the story multi-dimensional and make the woman more realistic.

| Posted on 2008-12-04 | by a guest

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Everyone needs to stop raggin' on Byron for writing this poem about his cousin. This man was and is a pimp end of story.

| Posted on 2008-12-02 | by a guest

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This is one of my fav Byron poems (with the exception of Solitude). I love his comparison to the night.

| Posted on 2008-12-01 | by a guest

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this is no beauty this is crap for they are all a lad.

| Posted on 2008-10-03 | by a guest

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i love this poem. its fing gd! romanitic and sweet!

| Posted on 2008-10-01 | by a guest

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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!

| Posted on 2008-03-05 | by a guest

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this is the most romantic poem ever writen. hundreds of years later there is pimpness still in these words

| Posted on 2008-02-13 | by a guest

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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!

| Posted on 2007-07-12 | by a guest