Tonight’s poem was written after a party. The young Lord Byron saw a woman in a black mourning dress covered with little shining spangles, and her dark beauty made him think of a starry night.
Learn from Songs · Poetry · B2
She Walks in Beauty
Byron’s poem about a woman whose beauty shines from within, first published with music by a Jewish composer: similes with like, all that’s best of…, the old third conditional (one shade the more… had half impaired), and the language of inner beauty, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
So it’s about her beauty?
SOPHIA
It begins with her face, but it ends with her goodness: a mind at peace, a heart whose love is innocent. And Philo, you’ll like this: it was first published in a book of songs with music by a Jewish composer, Isaac Nathan, called Hebrew Melodies.
PHILO
Hebrew Melodies! Now I’m interested.
Before you listen: the song
London, June 1814
George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) was the most famous and scandalous poet of his time, a romantic adventurer who died in Greece, where he had gone to help the Greeks fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Greeks still honour him as a hero.
In June 1814, at a party in London, Byron met his cousin by marriage, Lady Anne Wilmot-Horton, who was in mourning and wore a black dress with shining spangles. The next day he wrote “She Walks in Beauty”. It was published in 1815 in Hebrew Melodies, a collection of poems set to music by the Jewish composer Isaac Nathan, most of them on subjects from the Hebrew Bible.
In the poem, the woman walks in beauty like a clear, starry night: dark and bright meet in her face. Her expression tells of a good life, a peaceful mind and an innocent heart.
The deepest beauty shines from within.
She Walks in Beauty
George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824)
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:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
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;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
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!
Words in the poem
climes: climates, regions
aspect: appearance, face
mellowed: made soft and gentle
gaudy: too bright, showy
denies: refuses to give
shade: shadow
impaired: damaged, spoiled
nameless: impossible to describe
raven tress: a lock of black hair (black as a raven)
serenely: calmly, peacefully
dwelling-place: home
brow: forehead
eloquent: expressive, speaking clearly
tints: colours
all below: everyone on earth
Read and listen: dark and bright
PHILO
Read the poem. What is she compared to? Which words are about darkness, and which about light? What do the last lines say about her character?
SOPHIA
Then listen to a reading, and answer Section A.
🌙 Listen to the song: “She Walks in Beauty” (Lord Byron, 1815).Find a reading →
Similes with like; balanced opposites
MARCOS
She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies. All that’s best of dark and bright.
SOPHIA
like + noun makes a simile. The whole poem balances opposites: dark and bright, shade and ray, night and day. This balance is the secret of her beauty.
All that…
DEMETRIA
All that’s best of dark and bright meet in her eyes. All that glitters is not gold.
SOPHIA
all that + clause = everything that: All that I want is peace. Note: all that is usually singular, but Byron uses meet because he is thinking of the many things. In your writing: All that matters is…
The old third conditional
PHILO
One shade the more, one ray the less, had half impaired the nameless grace. (= If there had been one more shadow or one less ray, it would have half spoiled her beauty.)
SOPHIA
In older English, had + past participle could mean would have + past participle. Modern: If it had been a little darker, it would have spoiled the effect. Everything about her is exactly balanced.
Inner beauty
MARCOS
serenely sweet, so calm, yet eloquent, days in goodness spent, a mind at peace, a heart whose love is innocent.
SOPHIA
The last stanza moves from the face to the character: her smile and colour tell of a good life. tell of / speak of = show, reveal. His hands told of years of hard work.
Sophia’s comparison: Proverbs and Plato
PHILO
The Proverbs say: charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. And the Song of Songs: I am black, but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem. Dark and beautiful.
SOPHIA
And Plato says, in the Symposium, that love begins with a beautiful body, then climbs to a beautiful soul, then to beautiful ideas, and finally to Beauty itself. Byron climbs the first steps of that ladder in one short poem.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| like + noun | simile | like the night |
| dark and bright, shade and ray | balanced opposites | all that’s best of dark and bright |
| all that + clause | everything that | All that matters is kindness. |
| had + past participle (old) = would have | old third conditional | One shade the more had half impaired… |
| tell of / speak of | show, reveal | Her smile tells of days in goodness spent. |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What is she compared to?
2. What meets in her face and eyes?
3. What do the last lines describe?
4. What was the woman wearing when Byron saw her?
5. In which book was the poem published?
6. Who wrote the music for Hebrew Melodies?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. She walks in beauty, the night.
8. All ’s best of dark and bright.
9. If it had been darker, it would spoiled the effect.
10. Her smile tells days in goodness spent.
11. All that is kindness. (be important)
12. Dark and meet in her eyes. (opposite of dark)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “She walks in beauty, as the night.”
14. “All that I want is peace.”
15. “If it was darker, it would have spoiled it.”
16. “His hands told of years of hard work.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Opposites. In pairs, list all the pairs of opposites in the poem. Then describe a person you admire using two balanced opposites (strong yet gentle, quiet yet funny).
Discuss. 1. Can you see someone’s character in their face? 2. Is inner beauty more important than outer beauty? 3. Why did Byron become a hero in Greece?
Write (100–120 words). Portrait of a good person. Describe someone’s appearance and then their character. Use like, all that, tell of, and one pair of opposites.
Now play the gamebook: a painter, a rich lady, and the beauty that shines from within.Play the gamebook →