Themes
A raven-haired beauty is the subject of the poem
A number of unifying ideas or Central, unifying idea(s) that run through a text. run through the poem. Different readers may attach more or less significance to each of these themes, depending upon how they view the poem.
| Theme | Evidence | Analysis |
| Appearance: Byron avoids conventional symbols to describe the subject’s beauty, eg flowers or a sunny summer’s day. It is a less conventional appearance that is described. | ‘the nameless grace/ Which waves in every raven tress’ | The woman is a raven-haired beauty. The word ‘raven’ perhaps gives her a darker aspect as it is traditionally associated with a bird of bad omen. |
| Light: there are several references to day- and night-time, to aspects of the natural world which create light (stars) and to an inner light or radiance. | ‘And all that’s best of dark and bright/ Meet in her aspect and her eyes’ | The best features of light and its antithesis (opposite), darkness, meet to form something even greater in the subject’s extraordinary beauty. It is especially noticeable in her eyes. |
| A sense of wonder: the speaker’s sense of wonder is not directly expressed but comes from the nature of the comparisons he makes between the woman and aspects of the natural world. | 'She walks in beauty, like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies' | In the opening two lines the poet uses a simile (a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to create a vivid image) to compare the subject’s beauty to something vast, uncontained and almost unimaginable. |
| Theme | Appearance: Byron avoids conventional symbols to describe the subject’s beauty, eg flowers or a sunny summer’s day. It is a less conventional appearance that is described. |
|---|---|
| Evidence | ‘the nameless grace/ Which waves in every raven tress’ |
| Analysis | The woman is a raven-haired beauty. The word ‘raven’ perhaps gives her a darker aspect as it is traditionally associated with a bird of bad omen. |
| Theme | Light: there are several references to day- and night-time, to aspects of the natural world which create light (stars) and to an inner light or radiance. |
|---|---|
| Evidence | ‘And all that’s best of dark and bright/ Meet in her aspect and her eyes’ |
| Analysis | The best features of light and its antithesis (opposite), darkness, meet to form something even greater in the subject’s extraordinary beauty. It is especially noticeable in her eyes. |
| Theme | A sense of wonder: the speaker’s sense of wonder is not directly expressed but comes from the nature of the comparisons he makes between the woman and aspects of the natural world. |
|---|---|
| Evidence | 'She walks in beauty, like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies' |
| Analysis | In the opening two lines the poet uses a simile (a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to create a vivid image) to compare the subject’s beauty to something vast, uncontained and almost unimaginable. |
Question
How does Byron demonstrate the power of the woman’s beauty?
- The whole poem is focused exclusively on this one person.
- We are not told anything factual about the woman (her name, her age, etc.) She therefore has a sense of mystery about her which enhances her attractiveness.
- Byron uses strong contrasting images of light and darkness to convey extremes of emotion.
