Thank you to Mammoth Memory and Poetrydish for their partial scans of this poem. I scanned the last two stanzas myself, and I made some adjustments in the first four stanzas. I am open to any feedback if you have a different interpretation.
Black = Anapest
Purple = Spondee
Iambic = Red
Trochee = Blue
Green = pyrrhic
The Destruction of Sennacherib by Lord Byron
The Assyr/ ian / came down / like the wolf / on the fold,
And his coh/ orts were / gleaming / in pur/ple and gold;
And the sheen /of their spears / was like stars / on the sea,
When the blue / wave rolls / nightly / on deep / Galilee.
Like the leaves / of the for/est when sum/mer is green,
That host / with their ban/ners at sun/set were seen:
Like the leaves /of the for/est when aut/umn hath blown,
That host / on the mor/row lay with/ered and strown.
For the Ang/el of Death / spread his wings / on the blast,
And breathed / in the face / of the foe / as he passed;
And the eyes / of the sleep/ers waxed / deadly / and chill,
And their hearts / but once heaved, / and for ev/er grew still!
And there / lay the steed / with his nost/ril all wide,
But through / it there rolled / not the breath / of his pride;
And the foam / of his gasp/ing lay white / on the turf,
And cold / as the spray / of the rock-/ beating surf.
And there / lay the rid/er distort/ed and pale,
With the dew / on his brow, / and the rust / on his mail:
And the tents / were all sil/ent, the bann/ers alone,
The lan/ces unlift/ed, the trum/pet unblown.
And the wid/ows of Ash/ur are loud / in their wail,
And the id/ols are broke / in the temp/le of Baal;
And the might / of the Gen/tile, unsmote / by the sword,
Hath melt/ed like snow / in the glance / of the Lord!
Thank you, Anna!
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Have a Merry Christmas, Chris!
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Thank you, Anna. I won’t claim my scansions are perfect, and there are often different interpretations of certain lines in a poem.
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Wow! What a fine technician you are, Christopher! This would have been vastly beyond my own abilities, much as I enjoy poetry.
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Thanks, Woody. It’s a great poem, based on a Biblical passage. This is the best reading that I’ve found of the poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqAbaM0OvRs
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The imagery of the poem, the intensity of the scenes, the ghostly rider and the grim warriors in wait. Supernatural creatures and the boding but gorgeous natural light reflected upon sharpened steel.
Oh my, Christopher, it reminds me so much of Robert E Howard and seriously feeds my artistic hunger !
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Thank you, Nancy. I’m honoured. If you scan the poem differently, please let me know. This is a new skill I’m learning.
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Thanks, Christopher! I’m planning to use this in my Brit lit and AP Lit classes! Great!
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