She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron

1. Mahatma Gandhi Arts, Science & Late N. P. Commerce College,
Armori, Dist. Gadchiroli
Class :- B. A. – II ( Sem. – IV )
Subject :- Compulsory English
Topic :- ‘She Walks in Beauty’
- Lord Byron
- Prepared By -
Asst. Prof. Anil P. Raut

2. ‘She Walks in Beauty’
- Lord Byron
 About the Poet :-
 Lord Byron was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic
Movement
 He wrote during the early nineteenth century.
 Among Byron’s best-known works are the lengthy narrative poems Don
Juan and Childe Harolds Pilgrimage and the short lyric “She Walks in
Beauty”.
 He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read
and influential.
 Byron continued to produce poetry until the end of his life in 1824. He was
only 36 when he died.

3. About the Poem:-
“She Walks in Beauty” is a short lyric poem written by George Gordon
Byron (commonly known as Lord Byron). He wrote the poem in 1814 and
published it in a collection ‘Hebrew Melodies’ in 1815. The poem was
inspired by actual events in Byron’s life. Lord Byron attended a party at
Lady Sitwell’s. While at the party, Byron was inspired by the sight of his
cousin, the beautiful Mrs. Wilmot, who was wearing a black spangled
mourning dress. Byron was struck by his cousin’s dark hair and fair face.
The theme of the poem is the woman’s exceptional beauty, internal as well as
external. The first stanza praises her physical beauty. The second and third
stanzas praise both her physical and spiritual, or intellectual, beauty.

4. She Walks in Beauty
-BY LORD BYRON
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!

5. 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.
 The first stanza of the poem describes the physical appearance of the woman.
 Lord Byron describes a night (associated with darkness) with bright stars (light) and compares this woman
to that night.
 Byron describes light and dark coming together in her appearance (or “aspect”), as in her dark hair (“tress”)
and the light complexion of her face. But he also says they meet in her eyes. The eyes are often associated
with a persons soul, and reveal the heart. So he is suggesting that opposites meet in her soul as well.
 Everything that’s great about both “dark and bright” is “mellowed,” or toned down to something that’s more
“tender” and less intense than the light you get during the day.

6. 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.
 The second stanza of the poem describes both her physical and intellectual beauty.
 The combination of opposite forces, “shade” and “ray”, used to create balance in this woman. This balance
between “shade” and light in the lady’s beauty is so perfect that if you added one more “shade,” or took
away a single “ray” of light, you would mess everything up.
 Fiddling with that balance at all would “half impair,” or partially damage the woman’s beauty.
 Her beauty and “grace” are so hard to define that they are “nameless.” .By using the word “nameless” , the
poet enlarged the woman’s beauty and greatness, thereby suggesting it as something so priceless that can’t
be defined nor expressed as a name. This “nameless grace” is visible in every look of her black hair (“every
raven tress”)and it “lightens” her face.
 The expression on the woman’s face shows how “serenely sweet” her “thoughts” are. Her “sweet”
expression is an accurate reflection of what’s going on inside her mind, which is the “dwelling place” of her
thoughts. The sweetness of this lady's expression suggests that her mind is “pure” and innocent.

7. 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!
 In the last stanza , the poet also talks about both her physical and intellectual, beauty.
 Her cheek and her smiles are beautiful. In the phrases “days in goodness spent,” “mind at peace,” and
“heart whose love is innocent,” we understand that the woman’s inner thoughts are also as pure and
graceful just as her appearance.
 As in previous stanzas, he once again shows the theme of this poem, which is the woman’s physical
beauty along with her internal beauty.
 Poet’s Message:-
The perfect beauty is the combination of outward looks as well as inner beauty.

8. Thank
You