她走在美的光彩中

一她走在美的光彩中，象夜晚

　　皎洁无云而且繁星漫天；

明与暗的最美妙的色泽

　　在她的仪容和秋波里呈现：

耀目的白天只嫌光太强，

　　它比那光亮柔和而幽暗。

It was inspired by Mrs. Wilmot, Byron's cousin, when he saw her wearing a spangled dress

二增加或减少一份明与暗　　就会损害这难言的美。美波动在她乌黑的发上，　　或者散布淡淡的光辉在那脸庞，恬静的思绪　　指明它的来处纯洁而珍贵。

Background about the Poem

This is by far, the most quoted poem of Lord Byron's.  It was inspired by Mrs. Wilmot, Byron's cousin, when he saw her wearing a spangled dress at Lady Sitwell's party in June, 1814.

Byron's friend, James W. Webster, had written about the event . . .  .

三呵，那额际，那鲜艳的面颊，

　如此温和，平静，而又脉脉含情，

那迷人的微笑，那容颜的光彩，

　　都在说明一个善良的生命：

她的头脑安于世间的一切，

　　她的心充溢着真纯的爱情！

"I did take him to Lady Sitwell's party in Seymour Road. He there for the first time saw his cousin, the Beautiful Mrs. Wilmot. When we returned to his rooms in Albany, he said little, but desired Fletcher to give him a tumbler of Brandy, which he drank at once to Mrs. Wilmot's health, then retired to rest, and was, I heard afterwards, in a sad state all night. The next day he wrote those charming lines upon her --She walks in Beauty like the Night...."*

A love poem about a beautiful woman and all of her features. Throughout the poem, Byron explains the depth of this woman’s beauty. Even in the darkness of death and mourning, her beauty shines through. Her innocence shows her pureness in heart, and her pureness in love. The two forces involved in Byron's poem are the darkness and light- at work in the woman's beauty, and also the two areas of her beauty-the internal and the external.

She Walks in Beauty

by Lord Byron

1 She walks in beauty, like the night 2 Of cloudless climes （地方，气候带） and starry skies;3   And all that’s best of dark and bright4   Meet in her aspect （面貌，外貌） and her eyes:5   Thus mellow’d （变得柔和） to that tender light6 Which heaven to gaudy （明亮耀眼） day denies.

the black dress that was brightened with spangles. Byron portrays this, the mixing of the darkness and the light, not by describing the dress or the woman's actions, but by describing her physical beauty as well as her interior strengths.

7   One shade the more, one ray the less,8    Had half impair‘d （损害） the nameless grace9    Which waves in every raven tress, （乌溜溜的发绺） 10 Or softly lightens o’er her face;11   Where thoughts serenely sweet express12   How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.（它们（ serenely sweet thoughts) 的栖身之地）

13   And on that cheek, and o‘er that brow,14   So soft, so calm, yet eloquent （富于表情的） ,

15   The smiles that win （能赢得众人的心） , the tints （（脸上的）色调） that glow,16   But tell of days in goodness spent,17   A mind at peace with all below,18    A heart whose love is innocent!

Theme: mourning does not necessarily imply melancholy or extreme sadness.

Rhetoric: Byron uses many antonyms to describe this woman –face, eye, hair, cheek, brow, etc. to portray a perfect balance within her , often using opposites like darkness and light to create this balance. A simile was shown in line one which stated, "She walks in beauty, like the night," which is also the basis of the poem.

Rime and meter:The poem follows a basic iambic tetrameter.The rhyme scheme flows as ABABAB CDCDCD EFEFEF The poem also shows that it is lyrical which helps to put an emphasis on the mood and tone of beauty that the writer is trying to leave with the reader. There are various examples of alliteration throughout the poem In line two it states, "Of cloudless climes and starry skies," in which there is a repetition of the "s"

sound. The second stanza contains insight into "the dwelling place" of the woman's thoughts, creating an insight into her mind by using alliteration. The repetition of the "s" sounds is soothing in the phrase "serenely sweet express," because Byron is referring to her thoughts, and her thoughts are serene and pure.

Motif: the two forces of darkness and light . He constantly makes reference to beauty in nature in describing the woman’s inner

and outer beauty both light and dark. For example, "She walks in beauty, like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies." This show that she is beautiful like the night, which is dark, yet the skies are clear and full of stars, which are bright.

The tone, relating to beauty, is that throughout the mourning, a persons beauty can shine through. The Mood Inspires one to love and to see through the shadows of mourning.

Structure:

1. the darkness and light- at work in the woman's beauty, the unique feature of the woman is her ability to contain opposites within her; "the best of dark and bright meet in her." –outside and inside.

2. Her natural beauty is perfect—the nameless grace. Reminds us of the portrait of Xisi by Songyu （楚国诗人宋玉《登徒子好色赋》“增之一分则太长，减之一分则太短，施朱则太赤，着粉则太白”

3. Byron concludes the poem with three lines a physical description that lead to the final three lines the woman's moral characterization.

The speaker concludes the physical beauty reflects days spent doing well, a mind at peace, and "a heart whose love is innocent!"