The Destruction Of Sennacherib Critical Analysis

Throughout the essay I will briefly discuss the poem, The Destruction of Sennacherib by Lord George Gordon Byron. To fully understand this poem and why I classified it as a 'romantic ' poem I will discuss the socio-historical background of Lord Byron and the various characteristics of romantic poetry. To better understand the poem itself I will discuss and enlighten the events that inspired the poem as well as various elements within the poem , all in an attempt to coincide the romantic period and its ideas with the poem.

The romantic period saw the end of dominance in renaissance traditions all across Europe. This meant that there was a discernible fragmentation of conciousness away from the traditional and cultural authority of the Roman church. The biggest result hereof was the rediscovery of many local cultures and

It starts of by telling us of the impressive force that had been sent against Jerusalem and how when the personification of death encounters them not even they can stand against it. It describes the full force as a force that has the vibrancy of summer in them , the will and the power to defeat. But when death passes them they experience a change in their own 'season ' from Summer to Autumn. Meaning that they fell like Autumn leaves. This personification of death is only mentioned in the third stanza but a gradual build up is necessary in order for us to understand how vibrant and full of life this force was, and how after 'Death ' has passed, not even the innocent animals are spared from their wrath. After his defeat at the hands of 'Death ' Sennacherib then retreats back to his home and scorns his own Gods for his defeat. This is most likely not inspired by written historical accounts of the battle but rather based on what the Bible tells us and Lord Byron 's own