She Walks in Beauty
BY LORD BYRON (GEORGE GORDON)
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" is a
famous poem by British Romantic poet Lord Byron, first published in 1815. The
poem praises and seeks to capture a sense of the beauty of a particular woman.
The speaker compares this woman to a lovely night with a clear starry sky, and
goes on to convey her beauty as a harmonious "meeting" between
darkness and light. After its discussion of physical attractiveness, the poem
then portrays this outer beauty as representative of inner goodness and virtue.
"She walks in beauty, like the night"
·
The poet begins by comparing the woman's beauty to the night,
suggesting that she is as captivating and enchanting as a clear and starry
night.
"Of
cloudless climes and starry skies;"
·
He elaborates on the comparison by mentioning the clear, cloudless
skies and starry heavens, emphasizing her beauty's purity and brilliance.
"And all
that’s best of dark and bright"
·
Byron suggests that the woman embodies the best qualities of both
darkness and brightness, indicating a harmonious combination of contrasting
elements in her appearance.
"Meet in
her aspect and her eyes;"
·
He further explains that her beauty is a result of the perfect
balance between darkness and brightness, which is reflected in her expression
and her eyes.
"Thus
mellowed to that tender light"
·
Her beauty is softened and refined to a gentle and delicate
radiance.
"Which
heaven to gaudy day denies."
·
This radiance is so exquisite that it surpasses the brightness of
the day and is more heavenly in nature.
"One shade
the more, one ray the less,"
·
Byron suggests that even a slight change, either adding a shade or
reducing a ray of light in her appearance, would diminish her beauty.
"Had half
impaired the nameless grace"
·
Such a change would have lessened the indescribable elegance and
charm she possesses.
"Which
waves in every raven tress,"
·
Her dark hair is described as waving and contributing to her
grace.
"Or softly
lightens o’er her face;"
·
Her hair adds a soft and subtle brightness to her face.
"Where
thoughts serenely sweet express,"
·
Her facial expression conveys thoughts that are peaceful and
sweet.
"How pure,
how dear their dwelling-place."
·
These thoughts are described as residing in a pure and beloved
place within her.
"And on
that cheek, and o’er that brow,"
·
The poet continues to describe her physical features, focusing on
her cheek and forehead.
"So soft,
so calm, yet eloquent,"
·
These features are described as being gentle and tranquil, yet
they convey a deep and meaningful expression.
"The smiles
that win, the tints that glow,"
·
Her smiles are charming, and her complexion is radiant.
"But tell
of days in goodness spent,"
·
Her smiles and glowing complexion are evidence of a life
well-lived and filled with goodness.
"A mind at
peace with all below,"
·
She has a tranquil mind that is at peace with everything in her
world.
"A heart
whose love is innocent!"
Her heart is
characterized by innocent and pure love, devoid of any malice or impurity.
In "She
Walks in Beauty," Lord Byron uses vivid imagery and contrast to convey the
woman's exceptional beauty and the virtues associated with it, ultimately
portraying her as a symbol of grace, purity, and goodness.
Beauty and Harmony
As its title might suggest, “She Walks in Beauty” is a
poem that praises a woman’s beauty. More specifically, it presents that beauty
as a kind of harmony that is as perfect as it is rare. Indeed, that’s the main
point of the poem—that this particular woman’s beauty is
practically unparalleled because of the exquisite harmony
and visual balance of her looks. Beauty, the poem thus suggests, is perfection
achieved through harmony. And as the poem progresses, it makes clear that this
harmony is delicate and fragile—potentially altered by even the smallest of
changes.
The poem begins by establishing a sense of the speaker’s
wonder at the woman’s majestic beauty. The speaker doesn’t say that the woman
walks beautifully—but that she walks in beauty. This unusual
construction helps with the sense that the woman’s beauty is truly remarkable,
so vast and impressive that it seems to surround this woman like an aura or
cloud. The poem quickly reveals what it believes to be the source of such beauty:
the woman’s physical appearance brings together “all that’s best of dark and bright.”
This suggests that beauty is a harmony between distinct elements—darkness and
light. Beauty takes the “best” of these elements and places them in a delicate
balance.
The poem then expands on this marriage of light and dark
in stanza 2. Here, beauty is presented as almost beyond language, a “nameless
grace.” The complex and intensely beautiful interplay between light (“ray[s]”)
and dark (“shade”) is made possible only by the shape and contours of the
woman’s physical appearance. This reinforces the idea that beauty is a kind of
perfection achieved through harmony.
Part of the power of beauty is in its rarity. As lines 5
and 6 make clear, the woman’s harmonious beauty is not an everyday
occurrence—this interplay of light and dark is the exclusive preserve of
“heaven,” not the “gaudy day[s]” of life on earth. Beauty, then, also has an
air of the divine or supernatural that contributes to this sense of
rarity—comparable to sighting a comet or eclipse, perhaps. Furthermore, beauty
is all-the-rarer because the harmony required for
it to exist is so fragile. In the second stanza, the speaker outlines how even
one shade—or one ray—out of place in the interplay of light and dark on the
woman’s hair would upset her beauty; indeed, it would be “half impaired.”
It’s also worth noting that the common literary
associations of darkness tend to be mystery and fear (in the works of Edgar
Allan Poe, for example). Contrastingly, light is often linked to purity,
beauty, and love (e.g., Carol Ann Duffy’s “Valentine” or Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”) The beauty in “She Walks in
Beauty” depends on both light and dark, bringing them
together in harmony. Accordingly, the woman’s beauty is all the more powerful
and uncommon. “She Walks in Beauty,” then, is a poem that cherishes physical
beauty and perfection. In the figure of the woman that it addresses, it sees an
unparalleled example of perfect beauty and seeks to explain it, even though it
may prove impossible to characterize its “nameless grace,” as a type of rare
harmony that brings together light and dark.
Inner Beauty
vs. Outer Beauty
While “She walks in Beauty” primarily focuses on physical
beauty, it also explores the relationship between inner beauty and outer
beauty. It portrays these concepts as closely interconnected. Indeed, the
woman’s outer appearance is read as a sign of her inner serenity, peacefulness,
and innocence.
The poem develops a sense of physical beauty before
introducing the idea that this type of beauty is linked to a person’s interior
state. Lines 1-10 help the reader grasp just how rare and powerful this woman’s
beauty is, which is further presented as a delicate—near impossible—balance
between light and dark.
The poem then shifts, however, and begins to discuss the
relationship between this outer loveliness and the woman's inner self. The
woman’s face is portrayed as the site on which her thoughts are “expressed.”
These thoughts, in turn, are characterized as “serenely sweet”; the poem maps
the harmoniousness of the woman’s beauty onto her presumed inner state (that
is, since she is so lovely, her thoughts must also be lovely). Indeed, the
expression of her thoughts on her face serves to reinforce the purity and
“dearness” (preciousness) of their “dwelling-place.” This could be interpreted
as the thoughts reinforcing the woman’s outer beauty, or perhaps they speak of
a kind of beauty that incorporates both physical appearance and
personality/character.
The third stanza picks up on the development of lines 11
and 12, focusing on the relationship between inner and outer beauty. The
speaker lists the woman’s fine features—her “cheek,” “brow,” “smiles,” and
“tints” (skin)—and suggests that they express an inner goodness. In other
words, her good looks are the sign of good virtues: the speaker believes that
woman spends her days in “goodness,” has a peaceful mind, and a loving,
innocent heart.
Outer beauty, then, becomes a symbol of inner beauty.
Indeed, this inner beauty enhances the outer beauty because,
if the outer beauty is linked to the woman’s facial expressions, these
expressions are the result of inner emotions. Her outer beauty and inner
“goodness” are in a kind of feedback loop, each intensifying the other.
Of course, it’s up to the reader to decide how much this
idea convinces them. The poem spends most of its time focusing on physical
beauty, and the reader learns little about the woman other than what the
speaker tells them. Regardless, in the speaker’s opinion at least, outer beauty
is a reflection of inner beauty—and indeed, both are in harmony with one
another.
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