:: she walks in beauty, part 2 ::

it’s funny -- whenever I read “she walks in”, I picture a dark-haired girl in stark sunlight, and then I get to “beauty” and it always catches me slightly off-guard.

byron continues in his comparisons of dark and light in the second stanza (and I believe I already pulled out examples of this in my previous post). “one shade the more, one ray the less”…she’s perfect: any darker and she wouldn’t have the same bright grace or beauty.
once again, he emphasizes dark vs. light in his description of her “raven tress[es]” that “softly lighten” over her face. what an impressive contrast!

        because we aren't told her name, to me, at least, it makes her a little more perfect. I can imagine her as he describes her, without knowing any of her story and without having her image ruined by facts. this anonymity makes gives her an almost phantom-like, elusive quality; byron can praise her to the skies without needing to be completely factually correct. he can create a perfect subject for this poem, as if she didn't previously exist... and for all we know, she didn't.

as he ends stanza two, he moves on. the focus seems to shift here to praising her character, her self, rather than her physical features. her face is beautiful, but it only serves to show her character: the innocence and sweetness of her personality. her face is “where thoughts serenely sweet express, how pure, how dear their dwelling-place”; who she is shines through and makes her that much more attractive.

  lord byron continues by doing an amazing parallel sort of description, illustrating her character by describing her physical looks. he sets it up at “where thoughts serenely sweet express…”, and the rest of the poem speaks of her captivating spirit by describing her captivating face. her cheek and brow are “eloquent” in their display of her character. they “tell of days in goodness spent” as well as being attractive in and of themselves.

        perhaps, though, that’s byron’s point. are her features so attractive ‘in and of themselves’? or is her outward beauty the tangible expression of her beautiful personality? she is innocent in love -- implying heart as well as physical purity -- and she is winning in her behavior; despite her beauty, she doesn’t repulse people, she attracts them. this is emphasized later on, too, in that she is specifically “at peace with all below” -- she doesn’t have any petty rivalries or flirtations with those around her. 

  I wonder, here, if the “but” in “but tell of days in goodness spent” is meant to imply she is a happy, healthy girl whose attractiveness is because of her healthiness. as opposed to paint (to put it rather euphemistically. though that is completely conjecture on my part).
byron certainly shows that her attraction for him is her inward beauty, expressed in her face. “the smiles that win” have won him, at least; her face tells of “days in goodness spent”; and there is a certain wistful quality of the last line: “a heart whose love is innocent”. byron was by no means the romantic ideal of classic literature. compare him to mr. darcy. ( -- or don’t.) he epitomizes the tall, dark, and handsome (but also conflicted, moody, and rather dangerous) man of … well, gone with the wind, almost. although rhett never really endeared me to him the way byron has a knack of doing. (gwtw review later, however. my goodness, I’m committing myself to quite a lot.)

this poem captures a mellow, rather wistful feeling. byron reveres this woman for her goodness, and all the more as he recognizes how far above him she is; her goodness requires respect, but she is gracious... and makes everything around her beautiful.