Introduction

“She Walks in Beauty” is a straightforward and short poem of three stanzas and eighteen lines. Although the poem is relatively brief, it is one of the most well-known and recognized poems by Byron. The poet is talking about an unnamed woman, but from the speaker’s description, we can conclude that the persona is quite striking. The speaker compares the woman to lots of beautiful, but dark, things, like ‘’night’’ and ‘’starry skies’’ (line 2). In the second stanza, the speaker uses the contrast between light and dark, day and night to bring out the beauty of this woman. The speaker describes the face of the woman as really ‘’pure’’ and ‘’sweet’’ (line 11).  In the last stanza, the speaker wraps it up by saying that the woman is not only beautiful but also calm and good (line 16). It is a lyric form of a poem, and the theme is a woman’s exceptional beauty.

Analysis

As aforementioned, the poem’s primary theme is the outstanding beauty of an unnamed woman. Although the poet does not identify her by name, the narrative confirms to us that the speaker is talking about a person who is quite acquainted with.  Besides not identifying her by name, the poet also fails to provide more concrete information concerning the actual appearance of the woman. The speaker fails to tell whether the woman is not tall, short, slender or statuesque nor does he show the reader the color of the dress of the woman. Nevertheless, the poem has been able to describe the external and internal beauty of this woman. In the first stanza, the poet praises the physical beauty while the second and third stanzas are used to describe the physical and spiritual attributes of the persona.

The poem has a poetic tone, and the poet has artistically used different figures of speech. For instance, in line 1 and 2, the use of simile is evident. ‘’ She walks in beauty, like the night, Of cloudless climes and starry skies; ‘’( line1-2). The poet compares the movement of the woman to the movement of the skies. Although beauty complexion is often compared with brightness, the poet decides to use a different comparison and compares beauty to a special night, one of “cloudless climes and starry skies” (line 2). This simile helps the reader understand the beauty of the woman the poet is talking about.

The use of metaphor is also evident in the poem. This refers to a situation where an author compares two objects without using ‘’like’’ or ‘’as’’. Lines 11 and 12 in the second stanza, the poet compares the woman’s mind to a dwelling place. ‘’ Where thoughts serenely sweet express,  How pure, how dear their dwelling-place’’.  The use of the metaphor in these lines enables the poet to emphasize the purity of the persona’s mind. The metaphor allows the poet to give the spiritual beauty of the lady. Lines 8-10 have also been able to use artistically metaphor to compare the lady’s grace and quality.

Besides, the poet has made perfect use of imagery. The first two stanzas of the poem, the poet presents an ethereal portrait of a young woman. She contrasts white with black and light with shadow just the same way nature presents a picture of the firmament. The poet describes the lady as a combination of “the best of dark and bright”. Though bright and darkness contrast each other, the pot has been able to use them perfectly to celebrate the beauty of this woman. The poet has also been able to use imagery to help the reader understand the sense of the lady. The last stanza has extensive use of adjectives that describes the lady’s personality.

The poet also incorporates personification in his work. ‘’ Which heaven to gaudy day denies’’ (line 6), the poet gives the Heaven qualities of human beings. It is prudent to point out that heaven or the skies have no ability to judge the day or deny it based on its gaudiness. This is also evident in line 12 where the poet likens the mind of the lady to a ‘’dwelling place’’ or home.  Use of alliteration is also intensively used in this poem. This refers to a situation whereby the poet repetitively uses the same consonant sound at the beginning of each word in a single phrase. The author will tend to make use of alliteration to enhance the appeal of the poem to the ears of the reader. In the second line, “Like cloudless climes and starry skies,” the poet uses the words with the same sound.  This has also been repeated in lines 6,8,9,11,14 and 18 to ensure that the poem maintains its tone.  In a nutshell, the poem is well organized that has a clear structure and follows a clear pattern. Also, the poet has used simple language that makes it easy for the reader to comprehend the poem.

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