S H E W A L K S I N B E A U T Y L O R D B Y R O NB Y
G EO RG E G ORD O N B Y R O N, 6T H B AR O N B Y R O N, F RS, KNO WN SIM PLY AS LO R D B YRON, WAS AN ENG LIS H POET, PEER AND PO LITICIAN WHO B ECAM E A R EV O LUTIO NAR Y I N THE G REEK WAR OF IND EPEND ENCE, AND IS CO NSID ER ED O NE O F THE LEAD ING F IG UR ES OF THE R O M ANTIC M OV EM ENT. W IKIPEDIA B O R N : J ANUAR Y 22, 1788 , LO NDO N,
UNITED KING D OM
D IED : APRIL 1 9, 1824 , MISSO LO NG HI, G R EECE
F ULL NAM E : G EO RG E G O RD O N B Y R ON,
6TH B ARON B YRON
PO EMS : D ON J UAN, S HE WALKS I N B EAUT Y, M O R E
BACKGROUND OF THE POEM
Byron’s biographers agree about the occasion that inspired the poem.
On June 11, 1814, Byron is said to have attended a party, perhaps a
ball, at the home of a Lady Sitwell, and there to have seen for the first
time his young cousin by marriage, Mrs. Robert John Wilmot, dressed
in a black mourning dress adorned with spangles. Supposedly Byron
wrote “She Walks in Beauty” either the same night or early the next
morning.
THEME
The primary theme of "She Walks in Beauty“ by Lord Byron is the perfect beauty and goodness of an idealized woman. Byron makes no attempt to give his subject any individuality, instead making her universal, so that any man in love can understand his portrayal of beauty in the poem.
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. Her inner beauty enhances her outer beauty, making her perfect in the speaker's eyes
