Chapter 2.7: She Walks in Beauty
While judging any person you would consider certain aspects. Complete the diagram after carefully thinking about what aspects you would consider.
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Make a list of proverbs and quotations related to ‘Beauty’.
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Proverbs related to Beauty:
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Beauty, unaccompanied by virtue, is as a flower without perfume.
A good character is a real beauty that never fades.
Without grace, beauty is an unabated hook.
Anyone who sees beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor
A heart in love with beauty never grows old.
Quotations related to Beauty:
Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. - Kahlil Gibran
A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness. - John Keats
There is nothing that makes its way more directly to the soul than beauty. - Joseph Addison
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. - Confucius
What delights us in visible beauty is the invisible. - Marie Dubsky
Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them. - David Hume
Discuss your impressions about someone's personality, and say what you like the most and why.
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Do it yourself.
‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’ you have probably heard this saying. Discuss in your class how far the statement is true.
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The statement ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’ means that beauty is subjective and therefore, what is beautiful for one person may not be beautiful for another. The idea of beauty is very abstract. The statement is completely true because a person’s idea of beauty is dependent on a variety of factors and these factors help them perceive an idea of beauty that is unique to them. Beauty is created by the observer, thus making them the sole authority on deciding what appeals to them and what doesn’t. It is often said ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’, meaning one person may find something to be of no value, whereas for another it may turn out to be something priceless. The difference lies in the perception. A subjective idea like beauty cannot be quantified by a person for another. Each individual has to perceive it in their own way. In the words of David Hume, “Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty”.
Discuss with your partner about the most inspirational person you have come across. Also, explain the reasons behind your opinion
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Do it yourself.
After reading the poem match column A with column B.
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The lady in the poem has a winning smile and glowing skin. According to the poet she is blessed with these things because _______.
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The lady in the poem has a winning smile and glowing skin. According to the poet she is blessed with these things because she has spent her life being a good and kind person, who has done no wrong. She has been virtuous in her conduct and has a clear conscience.
In this poem, the poet brings a perfect balance of outer beauty and inner beauty. Write a few lines on how the poet brings this balance in his description.
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The poet creates this balance by starting out to praise the woman’s physical features and then moving on to appreciate her inner beauty. In the first stanza of the poem, the poet focuses on the physical attributes of the woman. In the last two lines of the second stanza, the poet shifts focus to the woman’s thoughts. This is the first time he describes something other than her outer beauty, her thoughts, which serenely express the purity of the woman’s mind. In the third stanza, the poet continues this thought by saying that the woman’s facial features, her winning smiles and her glowing skin, express her inner goodness; they show how her mind is at peace with everything and her heart is full of innocent love. This gives us a glimpse of the woman’s untainted and righteous character.
‘Beauty is skin deep’- Do you agree with the statement? Or do you feel that beauty comes from within? Explain your views in a few sentences.
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No, I don’t agree with the statement that beauty is only skin deep. In my opinion, beauty is not just about a person’s physical appearance; it comes from within. It is a person’s nature, virtues and behavior that make him/her beautiful. Beauty that is visible only on the outside is of no use if the person is not a good human being. Outer beauty stems from inner beauty. Only when a person feels beautiful on the inside, can he/she feel beautiful on the outside.
Find out the words which are used to describe the lady in the poem.
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The words which are used to describe the lady in the poem are:
cloudless and starry night
all that’s best of dark and bright
mellowed eyes
wavy raven tress
lightened face
sweet and expressive thoughts
pure mind
soft, calm but eloquent cheeks and brow
winning smiles
glowing tints
spends the day doing good
peaceful mind
heart full of innocent love
A contraction is a shortened version of the written and spoken forms of the word, syllable or word groups created by omission of internal letters and sounds. Find out the instances of contractions from the poem.
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that’s - that is
o’er - over
The poet creates imagery of light and darkness to bring out the beauty of the lady. Find out the lines with such imageries and complete the table.
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Find out from the poem example of Simile.
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“She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;”
Simile - The ‘woman’ has been compared to ‘a night of cloudless climes and starry skies’.
Find out from the poem example of Metaphor.
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“Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;”
Metaphor: The darkness of the woman’s tress has been indirectly compared to that of a raven’s black and shiny feathers.
Find out from the poem example of Alliteration.
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“And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;”
Alliteration: The sound of ‘b’ has been repeated in the line for a poetic effect.
Find out from the poem example of Personification.
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“Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.”
Personification: ‘Light’ has been given the animate quality of being ‘tender’ and ‘heaven’ has been given the animate quality of ‘being able to deny’.
Find out from the poem example of Antithesis
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“One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace”
Antithesis: Two opposite words ‘more’ and ‘less’ have been placed in the same line to convey that had the darkness been more or had the light been less, the harmony would not have been perfect, thus weakening the woman’s beauty.
Write an appreciation of the poem ‘She Walks in Beauty’. The following points covered for appreciation.
About the poem/poet and the title
The theme
Poetic style
The language/poetic devices used in the poem
Special features
Message, values, morals in the poem
Your opinion about the poem
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Appreciation of the poem
‘She Walks in Beauty’
The poem, She Walks in Beauty’ is a poem appreciating female beauty and expressing how outer beauty stems from inner beauty, thus resulting in perfection through harmony. It was written by George, Gordon Byron, well-known as Lord Byron, who was a famous poet from the Romantic era of English literature. He was well-known for his satirical works and was one of the most celebrated and the most controversial poet in 19th century England. The title of the poem is also the first line of the poem, which gives the reader a glimpse of the woman whose beauty the poet appreciated. The title ‘She walks in beauty’ doesn’t mean that the woman is walking beautifully or that she is simply beautiful. It says that she walks “in beauty”, meaning that beauty surrounds her, making her magnificent.
In this poem, the primary theme explored by the poet is that of beauty, where he praises a woman he encounters as being flawless. The other themes are that of the delicate harmony between darkness and light as well as the perfect balance between the mind and the body, which makes the woman beautiful even on the inside.
This 18-line lyrical poem consists of three six-line stanzas, that is, sestets, which are written in iambic tetrameter and consist of alternate rhymes, thus accentuating the poem’s theme of balance and harmony. The poem follows a regular rhyme scheme of ‘abab’ throughout. The language used by the poet is rich and complex, which gives the woman in the poem a very mystical quality. The use of a variety of poetic devices like Alliteration, Antithesis, Consonance, Exclamation, Inversion, Metaphor, Metonymy, Personification, Repetition, and Synecdoche add to the complexity of the poem.
The poet has employed literary devices like enjambment and imagery to enhance its appeal. The visual imagery can be witnessed when the poet compares the woman to a cloudless and starry night, thus laying the foundation of the light and dark theme of the poem. The qualities attributed to the woman’s features ‘mellowed eyes’, ‘wavy raven tresses’, ‘soft and calm face’ paint a beautiful picture of an extraordinarily wonderful woman. The main symbolism in the poem is that the poet presents the woman as someone who is a symbol of purity and innocence.
The message that the poet is trying to convey through this poem is that one can be beautiful on the outside only when one feels beautiful on the inside. Though this poem is largely about the poet trying to capture this woman’s paradoxical beauty, which combines the best of dark and bright, the last stanza focuses on how her stunning appearance stems from her calm, composed mind, and sweet, innocent heart. It is her virtuous nature that gives her beauty that is unparalleled. In my opinion, the poem is full of class and elegance. The poet’s depiction of the woman’s attractiveness and his expression of the woman’s outer beauty being linked to her inner beauty, create a powerful impact on the readers’ minds, thus making them understand the absolute meaning of being beautiful.
Compose a poem of at least 4 - 6 lines on ‘Beauty of Nature’.
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Beauty of Nature
Still waters and running streams,
Tall trees and grasses green,
Towering peaks with valleys teem,
From flowers, nectar the bees glean,
O, Nature, how beautiful you seem!
You’re just like a sublime dream.
Write at least one paragraph and expand the inherent idea of the saying ‘A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever’.
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‘A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever’
The beautiful line ‘A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever’ has been taken from John Keats’ poem ‘Endymion’. The idea inherent in this line is that the beauty of things never ceases to exist. It lives on forever in our memory and we can relish its sweetness irrespective of the limits of time and space. In a world full of troubles and sorrows, this line represents eternal hope, because it frees the objects of beauty from any date of expiry. Beautiful things will continue to help a person relax and give him contentment even in the worst of times.
Browse the internet and find out different types of poems on ‘Beauty’.
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Byron’s name is often taken along with his two contemporaries – Shelley and Keats. Go to your school/college library and read some poems written by P. B. Shelley and John Keats to get a better idea about the Romantic Poets.
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Do it yourself.
