Identify the line from She Walks in Beauty.

• A. Her radiance grows steadily through the day
• B. A quiet sense of grace unites the night and day
• C. The poem speaks of a tranquil beauty within
• D. "She walks in beauty, like the night, / Of cloudless climes and starry skies"

Answer: (D)

The line uses a vivid opening image that directly introduces the poem’s idea of beauty. It begins with a direct quotation: beauty is being compared to the night, with a clear, celestial feel created by mentioning cloudless skies and starry skies. This opening line is the famous first image Byron gives, and it frames the whole poem around the balance of darkness and light, calmness and brilliance.

That makes it the best choice because it is the actual line from the poem and it establishes the key visual metaphor Byron uses. The other options describe ideas that aren’t present in that opening line—daytime radiance, a linking of night and day, or inner beauty—so they don’t match the original wording and imagery.