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Characters · 4
God / Jehovah
In Lord Byron's poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib," God, or Jehovah, acts as the unseen ruler whose will influences every event in the story.
character
Sennacherib
Sennacherib is the Assyrian king and main antagonist in Lord Byron's 1815 poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib," which dramatically retells events from 2 Kings 19.
character
The Angel of Death
The Angel of Death plays a crucial, though never explicitly named, role in Lord Byron's poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib" (1815).
character
The Assyrian Army
The Assyrian Army acts as the main antagonist and focus of Lord Byron's narrative poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib" (1815).
character
Key quotes · 8
“The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, / And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;”
These lines are the famous opening of Lord Byron's poem The Destruction of Sennacherib (1815), written in anapaestic tetrameter, which gives the verse its powerful, galloping rhythm.
Byron's third-person narrator · Stanza 1
“Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green, / That host with their banners at sunset were seen:”
These opening lines of Lord Byron's poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib" (1815) set the stage for the Assyrian army at its peak.
Lord Byron (narrative voice)
“And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, / When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.”
These lines are taken from Lord Byron's famous poem The Destruction of Sennacherib (1815), found in his collection Hebrew Melodies.
Narrator (Lord Byron)
“Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, / That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.”
These lines come from Lord Byron's famous poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib" (1815), which is a ballad-style lyric inspired by 2 Kings 19 from the Bible.
Omniscient Narrator (Lord Byron)
“For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, / And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;”
These opening lines of the second stanza are delivered by Lord George Gordon Byron, the poem's narrative voice, in his 1815 lyric poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib."
Narrative voice (Lord Byron) · Stanza 2
“And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, / And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;”
These lines are from Lord Byron's famous poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib" (1815), part of his collection Hebrew Melodies.
Narrator (Lord Byron) · Stanza 5 (penultimate stanza)
“And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, / And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!”
These lines come from Lord Byron's well-known narrative poem The Destruction of Sennacherib (1815), crafted in the lively anapaestic tetrameter that gives the poem its energetic, martial rhythm.
Narrator (Lord Byron)
“And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, / Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!”
These closing lines from Lord Byron's 1815 poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib" capture the poem's powerful theological climax.
Lord Byron (bardic/narrative voice) · Stanza 6 (final stanza)
Symbols · 4
The Angel of Death
In Byron's poem, the Angel of Death embodies the relentless and unstoppable force of divine judgment.
The Assyrian Host
In Byron's poem, the Assyrian host represents the frightening but ultimately empty nature of worldly military power.
The Withered Leaves
In Byron's "The Destruction of Sennacherib," the withered leaves represent the swift and complete destruction of human power when faced with divine will.
The Wolf
In Byron's "The Destruction of Sennacherib," the wolf represents the fierce, predatory nature of the Assyrian army, but in a twist of irony, it also signifies its own destruction.
Literary devices · 12
Simile
Byron begins with one of the most famous similes in English poetry, likening the Assyrian army to "the wolf on the fold," a predator swooping down on defenseless sheep.
Anapest
The poem's energy largely stems from its use of anapestic tetrameter: da-da-DUM da-da-DUM da-da-DUM da-da-DUM.
Personification
Death is depicted as an Angel who actively "spreads his wings on the blast" and "breathes in the face of the foe as he passes."
Imagery
Byron weaves together visual, auditory, and tactile imagery throughout the poem's six stanzas.
Alliteration
Alliteration adds to the poem's sonic momentum at important moments.
Ballad
Though it isn't a strict folk ballad, 'The Destruction of Sennacherib' draws heavily from ballad traditions.
End Rhyme
Each stanza consists of two rhyming couplets (AABB), with exact and striking end-rhymes like 'fold/gold,' 'green/sheen,' 'blast/passed,' 'chill/still,' 'foe/below,' and 'wail/Baal.'
Juxtaposition
Byron organizes the poem through a series of sharp contrasts.
Allusion
The poem alludes to 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37, where the Angel of the Lord wipes out 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night, forcing Sennacherib to pull back from besieging Jerusalem.
Repetition
Structural repetition weaves the poem together.
Pathetic Fallacy
The natural world in the poem both reflects and engages in the destruction.
Symbolism
Several images carry deeper meaning beyond their literal interpretation.
Vocabulary · 14
cohorts
Divisions or battalions of an army; here used to mean the large organized groups of soldiers that made up Sennacherib's military force.
noun · Chapter 1
gleaming
Shining with a bright, steady light; here describing the dazzling glitter of the soldiers' armor and weapons catching the light.
verb · Chapter 1
fold
An enclosed pen or fenced area where sheep are kept at night for safety; used here to set up the image of a defenseless flock being attacked by a predator.
noun · Chapter 1
sheen
A soft, bright glow or luster on a surface; here describing the brilliant reflected light from the spears of the Assyrian soldiers.
noun · Chapter 1
lances
Long wooden spears with a pointed metal tip, carried by soldiers on horseback as weapons of war.
noun · Chapter 1
galley
A large, low warship powered by oars, used in ancient and medieval times; here the reference evokes the sea-foam imagery comparing the gleam of spears to stars on ocean waves.
noun · Chapter 1
blast
A strong, sudden rush of wind; here it refers to the deadly breath or gust through which the Angel of Death moved as it swept through the Assyrian camp.
noun · Chapter 1
foe
An enemy in battle; here referring to the Assyrian soldiers who were the opponents of Jerusalem and, by extension, of God.
noun · Chapter 1
distorted
Twisted or contorted out of a normal shape; here describing the unnatural, frozen expressions on the faces of the dead Assyrian soldiers found at dawn.
adjective · Chapter 1
foam
The white frothy bubbles formed on the surface of a liquid; here used to describe the lather on the horses' mouths, showing they had been active but now stand eerily still.
noun · Chapter 1
weal
Prosperity, well-being, or good fortune of a community; here used in contrast with the sudden ruin that has overtaken the Assyrian people.
noun · Chapter 1
wail
A long, loud cry of grief or sorrow; here describing the mourning cries of the Assyrian widows who have lost their husbands in the overnight slaughter.
noun · Chapter 1
idols
Physical statues or images worshipped as gods; here referring to the religious figures of the Assyrian faith that proved powerless to save the army from destruction.
noun · Chapter 1
Gentile
A person who is not of the Jewish faith; here used to mean any non-Israelite power or nation, specifically the Assyrian empire whose might God has shattered.
noun · Chapter 1