10A, please don't forget to turn in your comprehension questions for Lord Byron's The Destruction of Sennacherib. Because we don't have class today, I will post the answers to these comprehension questions in the comments section below. It is your responsibility to make sure that you understand and have these answers.
Also, tomorrow in class we will be checking all the words of the day-- you should have 44 total-- the last word being slugabed.
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1. Point out examples of vivid imagery. Contrast the type of imagery in the first part of the poem with the imagery at the end.
Some examples of vivid imagery are “and the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, when the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee” and “Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green…”
The first part of the poem and the end of the poem vary greatly in their imagery. The first part of the poem uses imagery that appeals to the sense of sight (…and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold…)— and the images emphasize the threatening nature of the enemy and their strength. However, the end of the poem uses imagery that appeals to the sense of sound—specifically the absence of sound— (…and the tents were all silent, … the trumpet unblown…) Byron does this to emphasize how God completely destroyed this strong enemy.
2. What six similes are used and how do they contribute to the poem?
The first two similes are “The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold…”, “And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea…” which emphasize the danger of the Assyrian army, the massive size of the army, and the fact that the army came in the night.
The third and the fourth similes are, “Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,” “Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown..”and these two similes, coupled together, are used to represent how God took a strong, thriving army and completely desolated them so that they were dead, without strength, and brittle like the leaves of autumn. It also presents the imagery of the army standing upright in the beginning, but then, falling down to the ground and scattering before the power of the Angel of death.
The fifth and the sixth similes are “And cold as the spray of the rock beating surf”, and “Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!”—both similes make a reference to the cold— and this is used to emphasize the Assyrian army’s lifelessness. In addition to that, by saying “melted like snow in the glance of the Lord”, Byron underlines the power of the Lord, since God only had to look at the Assyrians in order to defeat them, and didn’t have to use any sword to defeat them.
3. What predominant meter and what type of figurative language does line 9 contain?
The predominant meter of line 9 is anapestic tetrameter. Lines 9-12 contain a paradox, since the Angel of Death breathes into the mouths of the soldiers and brings death to them, rather than life. Typically, breath brings life, not death.
4. Explain how the rhythm supports the meaning of the poem.
The anapestic meter elevates the tone of the poem—typically, poets used anapestic and dactylic meter to write about the great or meaningful things of life, such as war or the mightiness of God. Secondly, the anapestic meter has a military rhythm, and that reflects the topic of the poem, since the poem is about a battle and an army being defeated.
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