Azhia and Rose

She Walks in Beauty

Lord George 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!

She walks in beauty

Poem ParaphraseShe 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 graceWhich 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!

She walks at nightWith clouds and skiesEverything good about the night meets in her eyesEverything mellows with in her

If you was to take one aspect away from her, you would impair this nameless woman’s beautyThis nameless grace beauty is in every lock of her black hair, that brightens her faceHer face shows how serenely sweet her thoughts are. These expressions come from a dwelling place (her mind) Her cheek, and foreheadVery soft and stuffShe blushes when she smiles, and glows. But what exactly do these smiles representShe is very at peaceAnd also is her heart, very innocent.

Paraphrase the Poem

Literal SenseSentence 1 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.

This unnamed woman is being compared to the night, which is unusual because a woman’s beauty is usually compared to a summers day. Her beauty is compared to a cloudless, starry night. Her whole appearances especially her eyes creates a harmony between bright and dark. The contrast this woman posses, creates a sense of beauty and harmony.

Literal SenseSentence 2 Analysis

One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless graceWhich 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 shade and light with in this woman balance out. If you were to take one ray away or a shade away, then it would mess this woman up. Messing with that balance would make the woman not perfect. Her beauty and grace are so hard to define that they are “nameless.” The woman’s dark (raven) hair brightens up her face.

Literal SenseSentence 3 Analysis

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!

He saying that these various things on her face make her elegant. She seems not to joke a lot, she is more lovely and lady like. Although she is calm, her facial expressions are very expressive. These smiles that the woman posses are a reflection of her good deeds. This woman’s conscience is always at rest, she is a good woman. She is very innocent, so her love is basically untouched.

Diction• What Language is used?

The language of the poem is quite casual as seen in the first line, "She walks in beauty, like the night,”. Also the language is very vivid, “Thus mellowed to that tender light / Which heaven to gaudy day denies”. The whole poem is metaphorical though, comparing this woman to the dark starry nights.• Does it create vivid expressions or innovative ideas by manipulating

syntax (word order), or semantics (word meaning)?The poet manipulates the syntax throughout the poem. He

uses various metaphors and such to set the contrast that continues throughout the poem.• Do any words have other connotations: associations beyond the

standard denotation, or definition? Light and dark- Byron constantly uses different uses of light

and dark to make something beautiful (the woman) This is odd because a woman’s beauty is usually compared to a summers day.

The word innocent. Not necessarily saying the woman is innocent, but more so she has an untouched love.

Byron saying that woman has raven hair. The conventional beautiful woman back then had blond hair with blue eyes. So him saying this woman had dark hair is very surprising and almost renaissance. Which was what Byron was very known for.

Is the etymology (the history of a word's meaning) of any word or words important to the meaning of the poem?

A lot of our poem is written in very simple English.

Gaudy- this word derives from the old English word Gaud, meaning a trashy bauble, a trashy trinket or ornament. The word actually comes from Old French gaudir "to rejoice, make merry, to jest, scoff at" from late Latin gaudre "to rejoice", a descendant of Latin gaudere "rejoice, be joyful". It is close kin to Greek ganusthai "to rejoice" with an infixed N. (Thanks today to Kathleen of Norway for this elegant if not gaudy lexical trinket from the English word store. This is the 1500th Good Word that we now have in our Good Word dictionary.)

Diction (continued…)

• What sort of attitude, mood or emotion does it convey? What kind of emotional atmosphere does the poet establish/create?

A reverent type tone. The speaker has the upmost respect for woman. Byron is creating a lustful, admiring mood. The whole time he is admiring this one woman, which in turn makes the reader feel this admiration that he possesses.

• Is it happy, sad, humorous, angry, nostalgic, serious, frivolous, sarcastic, ecstatic, grotesque?

The poem definitely displays some nostalgia. It is if the Byron is yearning for this woman, but yet can’t have her. The whole entire poem is about this nameless woman and everything she has to offer.

• Is there irony: a discrepancy between what is stated and what is meant, conveyed through a tone of voice or contradiction between words and the matter at hand?

Tone And Mood

•What kind of emotions does the poem evoke in you? This is the mood of the poem, what the poet intended for his/her readers to feel.

It makes me feel admiration for the woman also. I believe that the poet wanted this emotion to be conveyed. I sense lust and admiration throughout the whole poem.

Tone and mood

• Who is speaking? to whom? on what occasion? for what purpose?

The speaker (maybe the poet) is speaking. It is as if he is just speaking, maybe his most inner thoughts. He isn’t speaking to the reader more so he speaks while the reader is able to listen.

• What is the speaker's relationship to you, the reader? Are you being spoken to directly? Are you being ignored? Are you overhearing the speaker?

We are just over hearing the speaker. The speaker and reader have no real distinct relation. He just talking.

Rhetorical Situation

• Does it contain any similes: the comparison of one thing with something else using "like" or "as"?• Yes. (for example: walks in beauty like the night.)

• Does it use metaphor: a comparison made by direct association, through substitution of one thing or idea for another?• Her beauty is described with the images of a cloudless clime and

starry sky.

• The nameless beauty is also described as “grace”.

• The woman’s mind is put as the “dwelling place”.

• Does it use personification: attributing human qualities to an inanimate object or an abstract concept? • Heaven is given the ability to deny.

Figurative Language

• Are there any other forms of figurative language used in the poem, such as hyperbole, idiom, oxymoron, pun?• Simile is used to compare the woman’s beauty to the light and dark.

• What do you see, hear, taste, smell, touch in your imagination through the words of the poem?• The picture of the speaker’s ideal woman is very visually portrayed.

• Does the poem use symbolism: an image that has a meaning beyond what it literally represents?• The “ray” and “shade” could represent the purity and darkness.

Imagery

• Does it have rhyme, either exact or approximate repetition of a final sound?• Yes, in an ABABAB pattern.

• Does it contain alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds, particularly initial consonants (the first sound in a word), either within or between lines?• Yes. (for example: cloudless climes, starry skies)

• Is there assonance: the repetition of a vowel sound in a line or passage?• Yes. (for example: like the night)

• Is the effect of these devices cacophony: harsh or discordant sounds, or euphony: pleasing, harmonizing sounds?• Euphony is present throughout the poem. Long vowel sounds

harmonize the words.

The sound

• Does it have a standard form, as, for example, of a sonnet?• Iambic Tetrameter

• Does it have stanzas: lines grouped together, or is it free verse: having no formal structure?• 3 stanzas

• Is there a rhyme pattern: a repeated order of rhyme at the ends of lines within or between stanzas?• ABABAB

Structure