Language

• • "cohorts " is more of a business term, setting a cold tone. No sense of camaraderie
  • " Purple and gold" links to royal colours connoting authority and power
  • "gleaming" gives a facade of ego

  " And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold "
• • The shrivelling of the leaves foreshadows the shrivelling of the soldiers from the "Angel of Death"

  " when Summer is green"

  " when Autumn hath blow "
• • "morrow" a subtle graphic description of bone marrow being sucked out
  • "strown" a reference to a torture technique of 'Bloody Eagle' (open back and ribs) linking to brutality of war

  " on the morrow lay wither'd and strown "
• • Cacaphonic words said in an OLD TESTAMENT tone showcasing how powerless humans are against God and nature
  • Biblical reference of "Baal" as he was known as a false deity

  " the idols are broke in the Temple of Baal; "
• • Fricative alliteration creating a sound of souls being sucked out by Azrael

  " breathed in the face of the foe as he pass'd "
• • Vivid religious imagery
  • Man vs. God and reflecting the futility of human pride in the face of divine power

  " Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord! "