Destruction of Sennacherib

• 'The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold.'
• 'his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold.'
• 'the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea.'
• Gentile- a non-Jewish person, in this case an Assyrian.
• Fold- where sheep are kept
• Cohorts- armies
• Galilee- a region near Jerusalem
• On the morrow- on the next day
• Strown -scattered
• Waxed- were
• Steed- horse
• Mail- chain mail armour
• Ashur- a city in the Assyrian Empire
• unsmote- unhurt
• Idols- statues that were worshipped
• Baal- an Assyrian god
• 'like the wolf on the fold.' A simile. The wolf is a predator with connotations of power and strength, and would also be easily able to kill the sheep in the fold. Suggests that the Assyrian army should be able to easily defeat King Hezekiah and Jerusalem. The 'fold' gives the impression that Jerusalem are vulnerable prey.
• The light imagery created by 'gleaming' and 'stars' suggests the hope of the Assyrian army to succeed in their seige, and demosntrates their percieved nobility and power.
• 'sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea.' Simile conveys the sheer number of members in the army, which exaggerates the power of God defeating them later in the poem.
• 'When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.' The wave is a metaphor for the army, which compares their power and strength to that of the sea. It suggests the army are unstoppable and inevitably will win, just like how the blue waves will inevitably roll on Galilee 'nightly.' 'Nightly' could also suggest that the Assyrian army are used to fighting and winning.
• The juxtaposition between the similes 'Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green' and 'Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown' demonstrates the dramatic change of the army from being powerful to essentially all dead. The leaves of autumn are crumpled and decomposed, just like the 'withered and strown' soldiers of the Assyrian army when defeated by the Angel of Death.
• Rhyme scheme in first stanza- aabb- reinforces the confident tone of the Assyrians and further demonstrates their power and skill.
• Rhyme scheme in stanza 3 is unchanged from stanza 1- aabb- however the tone created is different. The words 'blast' and 'passed' and 'chill' and 'still' create a more sinister tone, one that conveys the gruesome death of the Assyrian army.
• Alliteration of 'their hearts but once heaved' creates the impression that the Assyrian are out of breath. This could be demonstrative of their anxiety, or their literal absence of breath due to death.
• 'And the foam lay white on the turf, And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.' The 'surf' means the white foam at the tip of waves. The sense of power created the previous sea imagery ('blue waves rolls nightly') has been subverted to demonstrate the loss of power. The surf itself gives the impression that the horse died a gruesome death, further exaggerating the power of God and the Angel of Death.
• The absence of aural imagery in 'the tents were all silent' and 'the trumpet unblown' illustrates the sheer amount of soldiers killed by the Angel of Death, as there is no one left to make a sound. This is immediately juxtaposed by the 'loud wail' of the soldiers widows, which demosntrates the major grief caused by the Assyrian defeat. This further demonstrates the power of God by demonstrating the major impact that His conquer had on the Assyrians and their families.
• 'the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!' Although the Assyrians couldn't be defeated by weaponry, one simple look from God killed them all. This demonstrates the sheer power of God and how he has more 'might' than anyone. It also demosntrates God's ability to take away what people have pride over, in this case, the Assyrians' might.
• The Destruction of Sennacherib is written in Anapestic Tetrameter, which in stanza 1 is used to reflect the power of the Assyrian army, and also mimics the sound of their horses galloping toward Galilee. This enhances the depiction of the power of the army and their determined pursiut toward Jerusalem. In the remaining stanzas, it is used to demonstrate the power of God over the army.
• Anapestic Tetrameter is used to create the sense of a constant flow of events, and suggest that all events in the poem are going to come to an inevitable conclusion (the might of God overpowering all.)
• The repetition of 'breath' in stanza 3 creates the impression that God and the Angel of Death are immensely more powerful than the Assyrian army. 'The Angel of Death ... breathed in the face of the foe' and 'there lay the steed' which through it 'rolled not the breath of his pride.'
• 'gleaming in purple and gold.' Purple and gold are colours of wealth, power and authority, whilst gleaming is used as light imagery to suggest the hope and good-fortune for the Assyrians. It further emphasises their power and belief that they will win.
• sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea.
• 'Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green.'
• Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown.
• And breathed in the face of the foe has he passed
• That host on the morrow lay withered and strown
• And their hearts but once heaved
• And the tents were all silent
• the trumpet unblown
• loud in their wail