Lord Byron’s poem She walks in Beauty is about an anonymous woman who appears to be striking with beauty. The woman is compared to “starry skies” as well as the “night”. The speaker still goes on to the second stanza to describe the beauty of this woman as a contrast between the day and night. She is also described to possess the “smile that wins” as well as a soft face (Llanas 44). In his work, Byron uses imaginative thinking in describing what, in his thoughts, beauty entails. He also relates closely to nature and describes the woman’s beauty with the aspects of nature.
It is in the nature of romantic poets to use imagination as part of their self-expression. She Walks in Beauty is written to describe Wilmot who is Byron’s cousin. He portrays her beauty as a mixture of light and darkness. Light, in this case, portrays her inner beauty and strength. Byron’s symbolic description of the flawless woman allows the reader to imagine that the woman is exceptionally strong since it has the ability to brighten up the nighttime sky.
Apparently, Byron relates much to nature in his work. For instance, he uses “cloudless climes”, “night”, and “heaven” to express the extent of beauty in the life of his cousin Wilmot (Llanas 44). He brings to notice the fact that humans find nature extremely beautiful. The beauty of nature influences the views of humans on what they consider beautiful.
In conclusion, Lord Byron does an excellent job in describing what beauty is like. He uses his imaginative skills in comparing the beauty of a woman to nature such as “starry skies” and “night”. He succeeds in convincing the readers that the beauty of nature is so extreme that it can be compared to the beauty of humans.
Works Cited
Llanas, Sheila. Beauty Poetry: “She Walks in Beauty”. NY: Enslow Publishers, 2014. Print.