Blake Vs. Byron, Innocence Vs. Beauty

Similar to the world of sports, poetry can be a competitive field. As basketball players compete on the court, poets are battling through poems with their own thoughts and emotions. William Blake and George Gordon, Lord Byron are two very well known poets. These two English Romantics write very unique and different poems. However, there is one major aspect that can be used to compare the two very different but similar poems: Poetic Elements. Analyzing Blake and Byron’s use of poetic elements (more specifically their use of Language and Images) can lead us to determine whether “Songs of Innocence: Introduction” or “She Walks in Beauty” is the most effective at achieving its meaning.

Lord Byron’s ability to convey his message through tone in “She Walks in Beauty” surpasses that of Blake’s in “Introduction.” “She Walks in Beauty” is a very emotional piece; Byron is clearly writing in the midst of emotion. The first line in the poem is suitable evidence: “She walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies” (Byron 1-2). If Byron is not writing this poem at the time when his feelings are strongest, he can easily change the poem to past tense. “She walk[ed] in beauty” will let the reader know that the writer is mentioning the past (Byron 1). George Gordon Byron makes it seem as if he is observing and admiring the beauty of a lady while simultaneously recording his feelings and emotions. By doing this, he is striking while the iron is hot with emotions and therefore can express his truest feelings. On the other hand, “Introduction” from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence is a retelling of a story. The entire poem is referring to the past, as seen in lines like: “So I sung the same again / While he wept with joy to hear” (Blake 11-12) and “So he vanish’d from my sight. / And I pluck’d a hollow reed” (15-16). Blake is writing at a distance from emotion, and that is exactly what his readers feel: an emotional distance in Blake’s poem. Because of this “distance,” the audience does not relate to “Introduction” the same way they relate to “She Walks in Beauty.” They feel closer to Byron’s poem than they do to Blake’s.

The images formed in both Blake and Byron’s poems are clear and definite. However, William Blake is able to use these images to create a deeper meaning in “Introduction.” In the first stanza, Blake writes:

Piping down the valleys wild
Piping songs of pleasant glee
On a cloud I saw a child,
And the laughing said to me, (1-4)

This first stanza creates the main image of the poem. As I read those lines, I imagine a beautiful green pasture on a sunny day with a clear blue sky and clouds like cotton. While an older man plays music, he looks up and sees a child on one of the fluffy clouds. With this image in my head, I continue to read the rest of the poem. I realize that this image is very meaningful; Blake is trying to portray the innocence of childhood. Using “a cloud” as to where he saw the child, the child is seen as an angel or someone belonging in Heaven (Blake 3). In addition, the white color of clouds represents innocence and purity. William Blake also describes the joy of an easily satisfied child in the following stanza:

‘Drop they pipe thy happy pipe
Sing thy songs of happy chear’;
So I sung the same again
While he wept with joy to hear. (Blake 9-12)

The child in this poem is indescribably happy, merely because of a song. This shows how the child is worry-free and unfamiliar with the real world’s dangers and stresses. William Blake describes how “[e]very child may joy to hear [his songs]” (20). “Every” indicates that the poet feels that all children live a happy, innocent and perfect life (Blake 20). Going a step deeper, Blake is in a way envious of the child. He wants to relive his childhood and return to a state free of worries. I believe Blake is not content with his current state; he probably has many issues and problems occurring in his life at the time the poem is written. Contrary to “Introduction,” Lord Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty” does not have as deep of a meaning to it. Byron is successful at creating a vivid image of the appearance of a lady to the reader. As I read the poem, lines like “She walks in beauty, like the night… / And all that’s best of dark and bright / Meet in her aspect and her eyes” let me know that the time when the poet saw the lady was probably at night, and her features are most likely dark: dark eyes, dark hair (Byron 1, 3-4). Although George Gordon Byron does a wonderful job at reproducing an image of the beautiful features of a lady, his images are purely decorative. There is no further meaning beyond that of a poet showing his admiration for a lady’s beauty.

Lord Byron excelled in the category, Language. He is able to draw his readers into his poem; the readers are actually experiencing exactly what Byron experienced. William Blake is weaker at using Voice to communicate his idea. His retelling of a story causes a distance between him and his audience. As for using images, Blake triumphs over Byron. William Blake is able to create images that advance the meaning of his poem. Deeper meanings can be achieved through Blake’s images, while Lord Byron’s images are solely decorative. One to One. The result is a tie for the Battle of Poetic Elements. Using only two elements to conclude which is the better poet is far too imprecise. There are many more aspects to consider when analyzing poems. In my opinion, I enjoy William Blake’s “Introduction” more than Lord Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty.” I prefer an image that creates deeper meanings to an emotional tone. At the end of the fourth quarter, the two basketball teams go into a tiebreaker. Who will be the winner?

Works Cited

Blake, William. “Introduction.” The Norton Anthology of Poetry. Ed. Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter and Jon Stallworthy. 4^th ed. New York: Norton, 1996. 671-72.

Byron, George Gordon. “She Walks in Beauty.” The Norton Anthology of Poetry. Ed. Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter and Jon Stallworthy. 4^th ed. New York: Norton, 1996. 767.