George Gordon Byron
She 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!
1.Questions for discussion and reflection.
1)Lord Byron is a _____ poet who embraced the power of the heart over the power of the mind.
A.RealistB.ModernistC.ImagistD.Romantic
2)The poem is about his passionate love for _____.
A.a womanB.natureC.lifeD.both A and B
3)What figure of speech is not used in the poem?
A.Repetition.B.Imagery.
C.Personification.D.Metaphor.
4)Which word best explains “impair’d”?
A.Ruined.B.Enhanced.
C.Highlighted.D.Saddened.
5)The woman is perfect in that _____.
A.she has incomparable physical beauty
B.she is as beautiful as nature
C.physical beauty works towards her inner person
D.her thoughts are serenely sweet
2.Pair Work: Read the poem and translate it into Chinese.
Proper Names
Oxford Street 牛津商业街
Lady Godiva 戈黛娃夫人
Notes
1. Doris Lessing (1919-2013 ):She is a British writer.Her novels include The Grass Is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos.Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature.She was the eleventh woman and the oldest ever person to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.In 2001, Lessing was awarded the David Cohen Prize for a lifetime’s achievement in British Literature.In 2008, The Times ranked her fifth on a list of “the 50 greatest British writers since 1945”.
2. Lady Godiva:Lady Godiva was an 11th century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants.The name “Peeping Tom”for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom had watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.
3. Lido:In the United Kingdom and some other countries, lido refers to a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun or participate in water sports.The word originates from Italy, meaning “beach”.Here it refers to a lake in Hyde Park, London.
4. Jane Austen (1775-1817):She was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature.Jane Austen’s novels were witty, warm and ironic portraits of the privileged classes of 18th- and 19th-century England.Her best-known works are Emma(1815), Pride and Prejudice(1813) and Sense and Sensibility(1811).
5. George Gordon Byron (1788-1824):George Gordon Byron was commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic Movement.Among Byron’s best-known works are the lengthy narrative poems Don Juan and Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage and the short lyric She Walks in Beauty.He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential.
For Fun
Works to Read
1. Middlemarch(1871):It is a novel by English author George Eliot, first published in eight instalments during 1871-1872.The novel is set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch during 1829-1832, and it comprises several distinct stories and a large cast of characters.Significant themes include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education.
2. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing:A novel set in England and Africa during the mid-1950s, published in 1962.During a time of changing world politics, an independent woman struggles with issues of personal freedom, racial justice, artistic conflict, and political disillusion.
Movies to See
1. Mona Lisa Smile (2003):Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003 romantic drama film produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Julia Stiles.A free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 50’s Wellesley girls to question their traditional societal roles.
2. Pride and Prejudice(2005):Pride and Prejudice is a 2005 British romance film directed by Joe Wright.Screenwriter Deborah Moggach adapted it from the 1813 novel of the same name by Jane Austen.The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England.