Lord Byron's "She Walks in Beauty" praises a woman whose beauty blends dark and light, and whose calm face reflects a good mind and an innocent heart. This free worksheet has Byron's full poem with numbered lines, vocabulary, five discussion questions, a writing prompt and an answer key. No signup needed.
Grades 8–10 · Common Core RL.8.4, RL.8.2, RL.8.5 · US Letter PDF, with an answer key on the last page
What’s on the worksheet
Byron wrote "She Walks in Beauty" in 1814 and published it in Hebrew Melodies (1815), a book of lyrics set to music. Tradition says he was inspired by seeing his cousin by marriage, Anne Wilmot, at a party, dressed in mourning black with spangles. The poem has three six-line stanzas in iambic tetrameter rhyming ababab. Watch how it moves from outer beauty to inner goodness.
Vocabulary
- climes: regions; skies or climates
- aspect: face; appearance
- mellowed: softened, made gentle
- gaudy: too bright; showy
- impaired: damaged, weakened
- tress: a lock of hair
- serenely: calmly, peacefully
- eloquent: expressive; able to speak strongly
Discussion questions
- The first line compares the woman to "the night". Why is this surprising, and what kind of night does Byron mean?
- Find two pairs of opposites in stanzas 1 and 2. What do they suggest about her beauty?
- What does "One shade the more, one ray the less" mean?
- In stanza 3, what do her "smiles" and "tints" reveal about her character?
- Is this poem mainly about physical beauty or inner goodness? Use the final two lines in your answer.
Writing prompt
Describe someone you admire in a short poem or paragraph that moves, like Byron's, from how the person looks to what kind of person they are. Use at least one pair of opposites.
The answer key is included in the PDF, on its own page for teachers.