Page 58 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit

“The Destruction of Sennacherib”
by George Gordon, Lord Byron, page 34

Vocabulary
[none]

1. With garments described as “gleaming in purple and gold,” the “cohorts” are most likely
members of what class?

Purple and gold are symbols of royalty and power, so one may infer that the cohorts were
members of the ruling class.

2. What does the speaker use to show the passage of time?

The speaker makes allusions and metaphors using the four seasons to show the passage of
time.

3. In addition to strength, what did the army that won this battle have on its side?

In the third stanza, the reader is told “the Angel of Death” is on the army’s side, breathing
its deadly breath on their foe as they passed.

4. What do you think is the purpose of the fourth and fifth stanzas?

Answers may vary. Example: Both of these stanzas describe the carnage left after the battle
between the two armies. Words like “foam,” “gasping,” “distorted,” and “pale” reinforce
the violence of the battle, and the resulting aftermath.

5. According to the speaker, who was ultimately responsible for the destruction of
Sennacherib?

After the speaker describes the widows wailing and the destruction of the idols in Baal, he
tells that the Gentiles went “unsmote by the sword” thanks the power given to them by the
Lord.

6. The poet’s mentioning of an Assyrian, the Gentile, Ashur, the temple of Baal, and the Sea
of Galilee is an example of what literary device?

The sites and characters are allusions to biblical narratives and tales.

T-40