The Destruction of Sennacherib
Lord Byron
1788 to 1824
Track 1
Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.
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Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.