colours of royalty highlight the power and ungodly extravagance of the army, an arrogance which perhaps foreshadows their downfall.
"and there lay the rider, distorted and pale"
the description of the pale rider juxtaposes the "gleaming colours in the opening stanza. This epitomises the annihilation of the army.
"hath melted like snow"
comparison to snow is an unsual similie because the battle takes place in the desert setting of Jerusalem. This shows the all-powerful nature of God as it reflects the events of the poem: the powerful army is impossibly destroyed just as snow is an almost impossible occurence in the desert.
"the Assyrian came down like a wolf"
predatory similie dehumanises King Sennacherib, characterises him and the Assyrian army as villainous and monsterous, out for blood.
who wrote the poem?
lord Byron
who was Lord Byron?
a notorious romantic poet who was frequently embroiled in public scandals; he is considered by many to be the first celebrity. He had an illegitimate child with his half sister.
