She Walks In Beauty: A "Few" Thoughts

Why on earth do I like Poetry? This is something that I ask myself nearly everyday. Half of the time I don't even understand it. Nevertheless, I have resigned myself to accept the fact that poetry makes me feel unlike anything else. One of the first poems I read that motivated me to read more poetry was Lord Byron's "She Walks In Beauty." I had never really "gotten" the concept of poetry and how it could benefit my life until I sat down and really took a look at this poem. I came to understand how (1) to find the deeper meanings of a poem and (2) that one could learn and understand so much from the simple aesthetic beauty of a poem. 

On a summer night in June 1814, a short glimpse of a strikingly

George Gordon, Lord Byron

beautiful woman caught the eye of Lord Byron. Such was the intensity of her beauty that Byron was inspired to pen a tribute. Now, I know what you're thinking: "That has to be the cheesiest thing I've ever heard." This is true. However, knowing a little about Byron and his "escapades" tells us that this girl must have been exceptionally. . .for lack of a better word: HOT! So, here is why I like it. 

“She Walks in Beauty” masterfully examines the harmonious marriage between light and dark and the splendor that this contrast creates as represented by the unadulterated woman framed in darkness. The poem is saturated with binary opposites that keenly express the contrasting loveliness of light and dark and encourage the imagination to envision the extent of the woman's beauty. Byron passionately uses the beautiful harmony of light and dark in order to effectively articulate the immortal impression that the woman’s light, purity and beauty have left on his own dark and troubled soul.

            

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:

The first four lines of the poem set the stage for the union of light and dark. The woman who “walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies” is envisioned as a bright star, enclosed by a sea of dark sky. As opposed to Shakespeare’s “summer’s day” notion where the beauty is the day, Byron suggests that the woman’s beauty is only incredible when contrasted with the dark. In the fourth line, the light and dark literally meet as “all that’s best of dark and bright / Meet in her aspect and her eyes.” 

The thought of this woman and her perfect beauty is almost hard to believe. It almost sounds like Danny Zuko bragging to his greasy-haired, leather-jacketed posse about Sandy while they all beg, "Tell me more!" There was something that caught my eye and sparked a curiosity that kept me glued to the poem. I put myself in Byron's shoes and tried to walk around a little. This was one of my first meaningful experiences with poetry where I realized that I knew and understood more than I thought. 

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;

One more bit of shade or one more ray of light would surely disrupt the perfect balance of light and dark, and as a consequence, destroy the impact of the woman’s beauty! The perfectly harmonious relationship between the binary opposites, light and dark, is described as a contrast between a celestial ray and raven curls that gently caress her face. Byron uses the same syllable in both “ray” and “raven” to emphasize the flawless harmony between the two opposites. The sibilance cleverly captures the effortless harmony of the woman’s dark and light appearance.

Once again, when I first pondered Byron's lines, I felt this wave of awe as I imagined the picturesque scene of the radiant woman enveloped in a sea of dark. She must have stood out like an African in a Russian snow storm. For me, the dreamlike experience of being in the room with Byron and seeing this beautiful girl almost became tangible. His description and how it plays to the senses and teases the mind only solidified my desire to continue to read and understand poetry. Once I became part of the poem, I had to know how it would end.

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!

Once again, the first four enjambed lines create a fluid and tranquil scene as the cheek and brow are described as “so calm, yet eloquent” and the personified tints “tell of [the woman’s] days in goodness spent.” The light of the woman’s inward and outward beauty ultimately shines against the allusion made in the final lines, specifically, to the evils of the world. 

With the final lines, “A mind at peace with all below / A heart whose love is innocent,” we finally understand the extent of the woman’s purity. While her outward appearance shows contrast, her soul only represents purity. The pure light that she personifies perfectly and harmoniously contrasts all that is dark and evil in the world, and ultimately, with Byron’s own soul. 

Like a yin searching for its yang, Byron’s dark and tormented soul craved to know its complement. He found it in the pure, light and beautiful soul of the woman. From this intrinsic desire was born the poem. She was the metaphorical lighthouse that illuminated the night in the midst of the tumultuous mental storm that inspired the best from Byron. 

Just as Byron, I too was captivated by the woman's beauty. . .and I didn't even see her! And that is what makes poetry so great to me: Poetry allows the imagination to determine the significance of the poem. It is the individual's perception that matters. It was this idea that really turned me onto literature and especially poetry. This was also, coincidentally, the death of any desire to pursue a career in Math or Science. "She Walks In Beauty" is only one example of a poem that has inspired in me similar feelings and moments of understanding.

The greatest human tradition is the ability to tell a story in a way that demands emotional response. Poetry does this for me in so many ways. Whether I am learning about Abraham Lincoln form Walt Whitman or about an old married couple from T.S. Eliot, I am being told a story that causes me to react. It is this emotional reaction that keeps me coming back for more as I look to understand the world around me through the experiences of inspired men and women who have truly lived.