The destruction of Sennacherib Flashcards
Recall the 1st stanza of this poem starting from “The assyrian came down…”
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
Recall the 2nd stanza of this poem starting from “Like the leaves of the forest…”
Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.
Recall the 3rd stanza of this poem starting from “For the Angel…”
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!
Recall the 4th stanza of this poem starting from “and there lay the steed…”
And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
Recall the 5th stanza of this poem starting from “and there lay the rider…”
And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
Recall the 6th stanza of this poem starting from “and the widows…”
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
What is the structure like in this poem?
- rhegular rhyme scheme (AABB)
- 6 quatrain verses
What technique is used in “Like a wolf on the fold”
A simile
What does ‘gleaming in purple and gold’ indicate?
That the assyrians were rich and therefore, later on in the poem, we can see that even money cant overpower the will of God
‘sheen….spears…stars…sea”
What technique is present here?
Sibilance to show that the assyrian army were evil (as ‘s’ sound connotes evil
What does ‘destruction’ suggest?
That something has fallen/been defeated
Describe the biblical story that the poem is based off on
- there was a brutal, strict king who wanted to take over Jerusalem
- God had protected Jerusalem and Assyrian Army and king die
What does the last line indicate?
“hath melted like snow in the glance of the lord”
They were easily defeated with the power of God
How do we know that there are religious references in this poem (quote)
“deep galilee”
A galilee is a porch of a church (which is a religious place)
What are the two main themes of the poem?
- Death
2. God’s power
