Introduction
The poem is about ‘she walks in beauty as written by Lord Byron in 1814. The poem is aimed at praising a woman’s beautiful physique and soul. It gives the illusion of a kind of beauty that is harmoniously perfect and visually balanced as it is considered rare. The poem according to Belia and Ayu, begins by describing how beauty seems to surround this unnamed woman like an aura. The source of her beauty is revealed to be her physical appearance characterized by her body shape and contours all of which bring together what is best for the dark and light. The poem also concedes that her expressions depict her sweet thoughts in this case referring to pure and innocent thoughts she has. Her calm demeanor, therefore, is attributed to the balance existing between her perfect physical appearance and her pure and innocent thoughts.
Paraphrase
From stanza 1, the unnamed woman is said to be surrounded by a cloud of beauty just like a night which in this case is one with a lot of stars and is cloudless. Her beauty though depicting the contrast between light and dark, her overall appearance and eyes which are the windows to the soul create a harmonious balance. Therefore, her beauty mellows or tones down the day’s light into a less blinding and bright light.
From stanza 2, the perfect proportion of her beauty would be messed up if a shade is added or a single ray of light taken away from her beautiful appearance. The woman is depicted as one with a dark lock of hair that falls perfectly on her beautiful face. Her inner beauty and serene mind are considered as sweet as it accentuates her physical appearance all admirable.
From stanza 3, the woman’s healthy cheek and forehead which is said to be soft shows her calm yet elegant blushes and smiles illustrating that her face is expressive despite her quiet nature. These smiles give a reflection of all the time she has spent doing good deeds. Her conscience seems as rested as her kind and good demeanor to everyone on earth precedes her. She expresses her love to all people without biases hence the aspect of innocence of her love.
Connotation
Metaphor; Lines 11, 12: Where thoughts serenely sweet express/How pure, how dear, their dwelling place.” Here, the woman’s thoughts are compared to a dwelling place.
Personification:
- Line 6: Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
- Heaven is the personified word depicting the shining woman’s appearance.
Line 15: The smile that wins, the tints that glow/ But tell of days goodness spent.
This means that her good days are represented by her happy and brilliant smile.
Simile; Lines 1,2: She walks in beauty, like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies.
Here the beauty of the woman is compared with cloudless and starry nighttime.
Attitude or Tone
The persona could be a stylish and sincere and equally romantic male.
The audience- the audience is general because every female would love to be described in the words the speaker of the poem uses. Similarly, the males would also want to describe a woman the same way.
The attitude/tone- the poem gives off a soft, calm, and romantic mood.
Shifts
A shift occurs in lines 11 and line 16 where the persona begins to compare the woman’s physical appearance to her thoughts and soul.
Title
The poem generally is about the overall beauty of an unnamed woman explaining her physical and inner beauty.
Theme
Beauty is just not about physical appearance only but inner as well.
Reference
Belia, Yolanda Ayu. THE BEAUTY OF THE WOMAN IN LORD BYRON’S “SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY”. Diss. Diponegoro University, 2019.