Poem Essay

The poem She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron is about how the author describes his love for a woman. He uses different methods such as metaphors, imagery, and rhyming. Through these literary elements, Lord Byron creates contrast that portrays a mysterious woman.

One of the metaphors the author uses to create contrast in the description of the woman is ‘She walks in beauty, like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies’. There is contrast between the night, which is thought of as black, and a clear, starry sky, which is bright. Lord Byron uses contrast because nobody is perfect, there is always good and bad in everyone.

The author also describes the woman using imagery. For example, ‘Which waves in every raven tress, or softly lightens o’er her face’. He is saying how her wavy, black hair lightens her face, which once again is a contrast of dark and light making the reader wonder about the woman.

One other way Lord Byron expresses contrast in his poem is with rhyming. There is a simple ABAB pattern throughout the whole poem that he uses to describe opposites. For example, in the first stanza, there is ‘night’ and ‘bright’. Also, in the second stanza, the author uses ‘impair’d the nameless grace’ with ‘lightens o’er her face’, which again builds differing thoughts about this woman.

This is a great poem for many reasons. First, it is a beautiful poem to read and has meaningful words. Also, the way Lord Byron uses imagery, metaphors, and rhyming brings the poem to life yet causes wonder.