"Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown...."See in text(Text of the Poem)
With sentence structure that parallels that of the two preceding lines, this simile compares Sennacherib’s army as it looked the following morning to a forest stripped of its leaves in autumn. The comparison describes the destruction of Sennacherib’s mighty forces, the bodies of his soldiers littering the scene.
"Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
These two lines, with inverted sentence structure, are a simile that describes Sennacherib’s army as it looked at sunset. The simile compares the army under its military banners to the green leaves of a forest in the summer. The comparison suggests the massive size and vitality of Sennacherib’s army.
"spears was like stars on the sea..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
This is another example of alliteration as the “s” sound is repeated at the beginning of “spears,” “stars,” and “sea.” The alliteration emphasizes the meter or rhythm in the line (anapestic tetrameter), and linking the spears to the stars contextualizes them as inevitable and beyond human control.
"gleaming in purple and gold..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
An example of alliteration, “gleaming” alliterates with “gold” as each word begins with the sound of the letter “g.” Bringing the two words together through alliteration stresses the richness of the soldiers’ clothing and suggests the wealth and power of the emperor himself.
"And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf...."See in text(Text of the Poem)
Sennacherib’s soldiers presumably rode fine horses into battle. The stanza creates a vivid visual image of one of these horses dying, foaming at the mouth, after the Angel of Death has destroyed Sennacherib’s army. Foam in a horse’s mouth is a sign of physical exertion. Here it is described with an unlikely simile, comparing it to surf beating against rocks on the shore.
"like the wolf on the fold..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
This is a simile that compares the Assyrian to a wolf attacking sheep enclosed in a sheepfold or pen. The simile suggests the vicious, predatory nature and the might of Sennacherib and his army, as well as the relative helplessness of those they are attacking.
