Literary Context
Byron’s biographers agree about the occasion that inspired the poem. On June 11, 1814, Byron is said to have attended a party, perhaps a ball, at the home of a Lady Sitwell, and there to have seen for the first time his young cousin by marriage, Mrs. Robert John Wilmot, dressed in a black mourning dress adorned with spangles. Supposedly Byron wrote “She Walks in Beauty” either the same night or early the next morning.
If the account of Mrs. Wilmot’s gown is accurate, it is easy to see why Byron thought of a starry night when he looked at the young beauty. Moreover, though death is not actually mentioned in “She Walks in Beauty,” the fact that the lady’s dark clothing was a token of mourning makes it likely that the conventional association of night and death was in Byron’s mind as he wrote the poem.
This interpretation also helps to explain why Byron included the poem in the volume Hebrew Melodies. One of Byron’s friends had suggested that the poet and a young composer, Isaac Nathan, collaborate in producing a volume of songs in the Hebrew folk tradition, and Byron agreed to work with Nathan on the collection. For that reason, a great many of the lyrics that Byron wrote take as their subject matter characters and stories from the Old Testament. Byron not only included “She Walks in Beauty” in the volume but also made a point of asking Nathan to have it appear first in every edition of Hebrew Melodies. The most obvious explanation is that Byron usually placed what he considered his best poem in a collection first. Since “She Walks in Beauty” is one of Byron’s most anthologized poems, evidently in this case the poet’s judgment was accurate.
There may also be a thematic justification for Byron’s using “She Walks in Beauty” to introduce Hebrew Melodies. Certainly it is the depiction of an ideal woman. One has only to look at the modifiers to see why this woman would be so easy to live with: “tender,” “softly,” “serenely,” “sweet,” “pure,” “soft,” and “calm.” It is, however, significant that the final word of the poem is “innocent.” Byron’s ideal may be viewed as a portrait of Eve before the Fall, appropriately placed first here, as it is in the Old Testament.
“She Walks in Beauty” is one of the few optimistic lyrics in Hebrew Melodies. The later poems show human beings as fallen creatures in a fallen world. What scant hope there is may come through art. For example, in the second poem in the collection, “The Harp the Monarch Minstrel Swept,” King David’s songs elevate humanity above its fallen condition. However, generally life is shown as essentially tragic and probably meaningless. In “Jephtha’s Daughter,” an innocent young woman is forced into martyrdom. In “All Is Vanity, Saith the Preacher,” it is asserted that even poetry is helpless against despair.
Any discussion of the meaning of “She Walks in Beauty” should also point out how inconsistent Byron’s admiration of the woman is with his own Romantic tendencies. This ideal woman has the neoclassical virtues of reason, moderation, and self-control. By contrast, Romantics value feeling above reason. Byron usually shows rebellion as proof of intellectual independence, excess as a road to truth, and passion as an indication that one is truly alive. Considering the rest of his works, as well as his life, it is ironic that Byron was so drawn to the virtuous lady he describes in “She Walks in Beauty.” On the other hand, it is only human to value...
(This entire section contains 623 words.)
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that which one has lost and which, unfortunately, will probably not long survive in this fallen world.
Historical Context
Lord Byron is regarded as one of the most significant and compelling poets of the Romantic movement in England. His poem “She Walks in Beauty” is often considered one of his most impactful works. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, romanticism spread globally, influencing the sensibilities of artists and philosophers in various countries. This movement was not the product of a coordinated effort by its followers but rather a reaction to the times they lived in and the issues they perceived in the work of preceding artists.
The latter half of the 1700s was a period of profound social upheaval in Western society. In the United States, this period is most notably marked by the American Revolution, which took place from 1776 to 1783, culminating in the adoption of the Constitution in 1789. Even more significant to Europeans was the French Revolution, lasting from 1789 to 1799. While the American Revolution liberated a colonial nation from its ruling country and established a democratic government, the French Revolution dismantled a political structure that had existed for centuries. Both revolutions were driven by similar principles, advocating for individuals' rights to control their destinies and rejecting the old order that allowed the aristocracy to create laws and impose taxes without accountability. Although the American rebels' defiance, exemplified by events like the Boston Tea Party, shocked the ruling monarchies, these actions were minor compared to the widespread violence and chaos in France during its revolution. The French government resorted to mass executions to intimidate revolutionaries, who, upon gaining power, executed hundreds of nobles using the guillotine.
These political upheavals fostered the sense of freedom that defined the Romantic movement. Previous generations had concentrated on using order, reason, and scientific exploration to solve the world’s problems. During the Age of Enlightenment, roughly from 1700 to the start of the French Revolution in 1789, philosophers like Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and Denis Diderot published influential works promoting humanity’s potential for self-improvement. This trust in social and physical sciences was reflected in literature through a focus on studying ancient writers' styles and themes, leading to the flourishing of neoclassicism in the early to mid-1700s. The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason can be said to have sparked a revolutionary spirit, as people worldwide began questioning the legitimacy of aristocrats who held power merely by inheritance. This revolutionary spirit paved the way for the Romantic movement, which shifted the focus from rationality to spirituality.
The romantic movement in literature emerged gradually across various regions, but most historians agree it crystallized with William Wordsworth's introduction to the 1800 edition of Lyrical Ballads, a poetry collection he co-authored with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In this introduction, Wordsworth famously described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” This focus on spontaneity and emotion established the hallmarks of romanticism: an emphasis on beauty, the significance of the writer’s personal sensibilities, and an inclination towards the non-rational, which eventually grew into an interest in the occult. The early English romantic poets included Wordsworth, Coleridge, and William Blake.
Lord Byron represents the second phase of romanticism in England, which began in the early nineteenth century. This new phase embraced an appreciation of history, although not the ancient history of Western civilization favored by the neoclassicists. As romanticism evolved, it incorporated an interest in folk arts and national history, providing a social context to the “powerful feelings” Wordsworth emphasized, without binding romanticism to social traditions. The poets of this period—most notably Byron, John Keats, and Percy Bysshe Shelley—are the ones modern students most often associate with the romantic movement. Their works are sensual and patriotic, mysterious and mournful. The stereotype of the poet as a young man, feverishly struggling with an overwhelming inspiration, consumed by love and doomed to a tragic end, is largely based on the lives of Keats, Shelley, and Byron, who lived passionately and all died young.
Compare and Contrast
1815: The world’s political landscape is undergoing significant transformation. Napoleon Bonaparte's French army is defeated by the British at Waterloo, ending his European dominance. Simultaneously, the British army suffers a defeat at the Battle of New Orleans, solidifying America's control over the continent.
Today: Major military powers rarely engage in direct conflict with each other, though they often support various sides in smaller nations' disputes.
1815: A woman mourning a deceased relative is expected to wear black for at least a year and avoid public social events for the same duration.
Today: Social norms regarding the expression of grief are less rigid.
1815: A London banker receives news of Napoleon’s defeat days before it appears in newspapers because his associates send the report via carrier pigeon.
Today: Information is transmitted worldwide instantly through cell phones and email.
1815: Artificial light sources include gas lanterns in wealthier homes and candles. Today: Most homes and streets are illuminated with electric lights.
