Copy Paste Notes

"She Walks in Beauty"

An Admiration of Inner and Outer Beauty: The poem celebrates the enchanting beauty of the women, and the poet is captivated by it. Lord Byron gives a critical message to the readers that perfect beauty is the combination of outward looks as well as inner beauty. According to him, the lady is blessed with attractive looks and also possesses a physical and spiritual harmony. Her innocent and pure thoughts further illuminate her beauty. It is through her graceful walk and pleasant face, Byron gives a clue of her innocent soul. The expression of beauty remains at the core of the poem.

The analysis of some of the devices used in this poem is given below.

Simile: A simile is a device used to compare two different objects to understand meanings by comparing these object's qualities. There is one simile used in the opening line of the poem, "She walks in beauty, like the night." Lord Byron compares the walk of that lady with a dark and clear night which also means that her footsteps are not heard.

Metaphor: There are two metaphors in the poem, in lines eleven and twelve. "Where thoughts serenely sweet express / How pure how dear their dwelling place." Here the poet compares thoughts with people and "dwelling place" with the mind. Similarly, "Raven Trees" represents the dark hair of the lady that adds further to her beauty.

Personification: Personification is to attribute human qualities to animals or inanimate objects. The poet has personified "dwelling place" with the human He also personifies the lady's "cheek" and "brow" with persons as if they can speak about the good days.
Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers feel things through their five senses along with their Byron has used images appealing to the sense of sight such as, "night"; "starry sky"; "cloudless climes"; "cheek" and "brow." These images speak for themselves and allow the readers to feel the same beauty that has delighted the poet.

Sibilance: It is a device used to stress consonant sounds through their fricative and affricative types coming after each other. The letter "s" is permanent in lines eleven and second that creates a special effect. Check the /s/ sound in these four lines.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /a/ in "Had half impaired the nameless grace" and sound of /e/ in "where thoughts serenely sweet express."
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds such as the sound of /s/ in "where thoughts serenely sweet express" and /c/ sound in "Of cloudless climes and starry skies".