"She Walks in Beauty" is a short lyrical poem written in iambic tetrameter by Lord Byron in 1814. It is one of Byron's most famous and popular works. The poem appeared in Hebrew Melodies, which was published by John Murray in London in 1815.

Background

It is believed that the poem was inspired by an event in Byron's life. On June 11, 1814, Byron went to a party in London. One of the guests was Mrs. Anne Beatrix Wilmot, the wife of Byron's first cousin, Sir Robert Wilmot. He was impressed by her unique beauty, and the next day, he wrote the poem.

It is thought that she was the first source of inspiration for his unfinished long poem about Goethe, a person Byron greatly admired. In this work, which Byron called his magnum opus in his letters, he changed Goethe's gender and described him in the same way he described his cousin.

Musical settings

The poem has inspired various composers throughout history, including Roger Quilter, Gerald Finzi, Toby Hession, Ivy Frances Klein, Jean Coulthard, Isaac Nathan, Nicolas Flagello, Mychael Danna, and Sally Whitwell. The British musical ensemble Mediaeval Baebes sing the entire poem on their 2015 album called The Huntress.

Legacy

In 2020, UK Mail released a commemorative stamp that included the opening lines of the poem.

In 2021, Marianne Faithfull and Warren Ellis released an album named after themselves that included a reading of the poem along with music.

In 2011, Caroline Kennedy published an anthology of poetry titled She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey Through Poems. The anthology included the poem, and the title of the book was taken from the title of the poem.