The Destruction of Sennacherib
Farewell! if ever Fondest Prayer. First published, Corsair(Second Edition, 1814)
Address intended to be recited at the Caledonian Meeting.First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, i.
Elegiac Stanzas on the Death of Sir Peter Parker, Bart.First published, Morning Chronicle, October 7,
Ode from the FrenchFirst published, Morning Chronicle, March 15,
Stanzas for MusicFirst published, Poems,
On the Star of "the Legion of Honour." First published,Examiner, April 7,
Words in this poem
- corsair n.
- A pirate; one who cruises about without authorization from any government, to seize booty on sea or land. [F. corsaire (cf. It. corsare, corsale, Pr. corsari), LL. corsarius, fr. L. cursus a running, course, whence Sp. corso cruise, corsa cruise, coasting voyage, cor]
- caledonian a.
- Of or pertaining to Caledonia or Scotland; Scottish; Scotch.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Destruction of Sennacherib is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 3, Project Gutenberg ebook #21811; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lord Byron, The Destruction of Sennacherib, in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/the-destruction-of-sennacherib.html, id L23824.
Form and metre
The Destruction of Sennacherib is 12 lines in 6 stanzas of 2 lines each. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Farewell! if ever Fondest Prayer. First published, Corsair | 12 | ·/·//˘··/˘/˘ |
| (Second Edition, 1814) | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Address intended to be recited at the Caledonian Meeting. | 18 | /·˘/˘··˘/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| First published, Letters and Journals, 1830, i. | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Elegiac Stanzas on the Death of Sir Peter Parker, Bart. | 16 | ˘/˘˘/˘·····/˘/˘· |
| First published, Morning Chronicle, October 7, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Ode from the French | 4 | ···· |
| First published, Morning Chronicle, March 15, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Stanzas for Music | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| First published, Poems, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| On the Star of "the Legion of Honour." First published, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Examiner, April 7, | 6 | ˘/˘˘/˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.