"She Walks in Beauty" is a short lyrical poem in iambic tetrameter written in 1813 by Lord Byron, and is one of his most famous works.
It is said to have been inspired by an event in Byron's life; while at a ball, Byron met his cousin by marriage through John Wilmot, Mrs. Anne Beatrix Wilmot. She was in mourning, wearing a black dress set with spangles, as in the opening lines;
He was struck by her unusual beauty, and the next morning the poem was written.
The first two verses are cited in the novel The Philadelphian by Richard P. Powell. The poem is also just in an House of Night book. Nathan, in his reminiscences of Byron, suggests (without any justification) that the subject of the poem may have been Byron's half-sister, Augusta Leigh.
Musical settings
This poem has inspired various composers over time, including Roger Quilter, Gerald Finzi, Isaac Nathan, Connor J. Koppin and Chanticleer Men's Chorus Conductor/Composer Eric Barnum.