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Feminist:

SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY

by: George Gordon (Lord) Byron (1788-1824)

HE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

This poem can be interpreted through a feminist lens because of the way he talks about the woman or "the beauty." He only discusses her beauty and how she looks. He acts like she is not a real person, she is just a object to look at and lust for. He leaves out everything about the way she acts and her personality. He makes it seem as if he is left with just a object to look at.

Marxist: Prometheus

This is a poem about rebellion. Prometheus is a an underdog trying to take down a higher power. Looking at this through a marxist lens one could agree that it could relate to the seperation of classes. The lower class and the upper class with the lower trying to rebel and take down the upper. The poem has a figure called a titan who is supposed to be Zeus. The titan has the power but Prometheus is unhappy with his ruling. Zeus could easily be someone wealthy and therefore has power because of their wealth. Prometheus could be the lower class or even an inferior to the wealthy power.

Here is Lord Byron's poem "Prometheus"

Cultural: English Bards and Scotch Reviewers

Lord Byron wrote this extremely long poem in 1809. He wrote in response to bad reviews his first published work, "Hours of Idleness" recieved. It is meant to be a satire. I argue that this poem can be interpreted as being influenced by culture because of the reasons it was written. The main reason was for revenge against the authors who published his bad reviews but also to condemn other contemporary authors. In the poem he largely defends the traditional ways of poetry. Lord Byron did this because of the culture he lived in at the time and not because he wanted it to be something he was remembered for.

Here is Lord Byron's Poem "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers"

A Difficult Poem Interpreted

We’ll go no more a roving

SO, we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,	5
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,	10
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.

As one can see, this poem is very short and says a lot in only twelve lines. However, I myself feel it is very difficult to understand exactly what Lord Byron is trying to say. In the first line he says “we’ll go” which means he is talking about himself and someone else. I am assuming he is meaning a woman. He talks of his heart loving and the moon still bright. I think this means he is looking for love. In the next four lines of the poem it seems as if Lord Byron is talking about being worn down, especially with the line “the sword outwears its sheath.” He also writes the “the night was made for loving” which also collaborates with the notion that he is worn down because he is talking about making love at night and not sleeping. At the end of the poem it sounds as if he is saying that eventually he will move on and find someone else by writing “yet we’ll go no more a roving.” Overall, I feel this poem is about Lord Byron finding a woman and settling down for a bit with her because he had been partying too hard. Then because of his mentality and treatment of women he eventually decides to move on and repeat the cycle over again.

I believe this poem is about a man that has just lost the love of his life. I’m not sure if she has died, or maybe she had just left him. He is sad that they will never be together, or out of a walk on the town. I believe the word A-Roving, means being together out on the town. He also describes that his love will never go away and it will outlast her and him. He states “For the sword outwears its sheath”. This state’s his love with outlast her life. This poem is just a man that is sad he will never be able to love his girl again.