The two poems by Byron and Housman portray war. “On the idle hill” is a very natural affair. “The Destruction of Sennacherib” is a very violent and graphic event. Both of the poems show the beginning and the end of the battle and misses out the actual war. This firstly leaves the battle to the readers imagination so it can be interpreted differently, and secondly it makes the reader concentrate of the consequences. Although Byron’s poem doesn’t show the battle it has a brutal and horrific image of the aftermath, “the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf.” This makes the battle seem eternal and timeless because the foam is not going away.
The tone changes throughout the two poems. ‘On the Idle Hill’ starts off very dreamily. This reflects the title’s passiveness. It then flows into a tense second stanza saying, ‘Soldiers marching, all to die.’ After the battle, in the third stanza it becomes melancholy because Housman uses words such as ‘forgotten’ and ‘slain’. Finally, the poem ends on an optimistic note because of the final line ‘I will rise’. “The Destruction of Sennacherib” starts off very excitingly and at a rather quick pace because it says, ‘the Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold’. This sets a scene of tenseness and anticipation. The poem then portrays men as aspects of nature. This makes the poem more light-hearted. The battle is skipped and the aftermath of the battle in the next 3 stanzas is very melancholy. In the last stanza, instead of creating an optimistic ending like Housman, Byron ends on a sad note of mourning, “widows of Ashur are loud in their wail.”
“On the Idle hill” uses very simple vocabulary whereas “The destruction of Sennacherib” uses rather complicated words to create importance and boldness, ‘Cohorts were gleaming’. In both of the poems there is a lot of emphasis on nature. “On the idle hill” describes nature, ‘flows of streams’ whereas “Destruction of Sennacherib” uses nature to describe situations and things, ‘Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green’. This quote is comparing the fresh, young soldiers to the new, green leaves. In the second and third stanzas of “On the idle hill”, there is a sense of never-ending because it says, ‘Far and near’ and ‘east and west’. This implies the battle is everywhere and ever lasting. Byron uses the sea to imply eternity, “when the blue waves roll nightly on deep Galilee” This is eternal because it is using a image of something that is inevitable and timeless.
The two poems have interesting structures. “The Destruction of Sennacherib” has a rather quick pace at the beginning of the poem but slows down in the consequences of battle. “On the idle hill” does the opposite to this; it begins rather slowly and dreamily but continues to get faster until the end of the last stanza. Both of the poems rhyme scheme mimics a drum. Housman’s poem has a rhyme scheme of ABAB and Byron’s poem has a rhyme scheme of AABB. These rhyme schemes sound like the drummer leading an army into battle. This keeps a steady beat to the poem making the poem sound more like a battle “The Destruction of Sennacherib” has longer sentences than “On the Idle hill” This makes Byron’s poem seem bolder and more intellectual.
In the two poems there seems to be a lack of punctuation. “On the idle hill” has an enjambment in the first stanza. This adds to the dreamy effect. The lack of punctuation runs through the whole poem slowing it down. “The Destruction of Sennacherib” is kept at a steady pace by its small amount of punctuation. In the third and sixth stanza there is a use of an exclamation mark, this shows tenseness, excitement and maybe even danger.
Both of the poems conclude in a very different way. “On the Idle hill” finishes with two war instruments calling back from the battle. This may be reflecting back to the initial dreamy state. When it says, ‘woman bore me, I will rise’ it can be read in many different ways. It can be read into as a warning that war may rise again because it is inevitable. Or it can alternatively be read as there being a female influence in nature that will rise up. Altogether it is a positive ending that shows Humanity versus evil. “The Destruction of Sennacherib” has a very religious ending. It ends with the all the soldiers dead. God killed the Assyrians because they killed the holy people. There is a strong reference to nature that may be a reference to God, ‘Hath melted like snow’.
Both of the poems are ended extremely differently, “On the idle hill” is optimistic and “Destruction of Sennacherib” is pessimistic.
Adam Hall
934 words