"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.
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The Full Text of “She Walks in Beauty”
1She walks in beauty, like the night
2Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
3And all that’s best of dark and bright
4Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
5Thus mellowed to that tender light
6Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
7One shade the more, one ray the less,
8Had half impaired the nameless grace
9Which waves in every raven tress,
10Or softly lightens o’er her face;
11Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
12How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
13And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
14So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
15The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
16But tell of days in goodness spent,
17A mind at peace with all below,
18A heart whose love is innocent!
The Full Text of “She Walks in Beauty”
1She walks in beauty, like the night
2Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
3And all that’s best of dark and bright
4Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
5Thus mellowed to that tender light
6Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
7One shade the more, one ray the less,
8Had half impaired the nameless grace
9Which waves in every raven tress,
10Or softly lightens o’er her face;
11Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
12How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
13And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
14So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
15The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
16But tell of days in goodness spent,
17A mind at peace with all below,
18A heart whose love is innocent!
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“She Walks in Beauty” Summary
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“She Walks in Beauty” Themes
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Beauty and Harmony
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Inner Beauty vs. Outer Beauty
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “She Walks in Beauty”
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Lines 1-2
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies; -
Lines 3-6
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. -
Lines 7-10
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; -
Lines 11-12
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. -
Lines 13-18
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!
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“She Walks in Beauty” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Antithesis
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Assonance
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Caesura
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Consonance
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Diacope
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Enjambment
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Sibilance
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Simile
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End-Stopped Line
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Parallelism
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“She Walks in Beauty” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Climes
- Aspect
- Thus
- Mellowed
- Gaudy
- Had
- Impaired
- Raven Tress
- O'er
- Serenely
- Dwelling-Place
- Eloquent
- Tints
- But
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “She Walks in Beauty”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“She Walks in Beauty” Speaker
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“She Walks in Beauty” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “She Walks in Beauty”
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More “She Walks in Beauty” Resources
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External Resources
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A Reading of the Poem — The poem read by Tom O'Bedlam.
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Byron's Scandals — A documentary about Lord Byron's more salacious side.
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Lord Byron's Revenge — Byron launches an attack on the literary establishment—one which helped him make his name.
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Byron's Life and More Poems — A good resource from the Poetry Foundation with biographical details on Byron, plus more of his poems.
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A Scathing Review — A review of Byron's first collection of poems, which isn't exactly full of praise!
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Lord Byron
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