Byron uses allusion in this poem to create a sense of place and to generate an understanding of whose side God is on in the battle. He references "the blue waves" in "deep Galilee," which the reader would understand as a reference to the Galilee where Jesus was born. The Biblical allusions continue in the third stanza when the poet describes how "the Angel of Death . . . breathed in the face of the foe," a striking image which suggests that the "foes" are subjected to the power of God acting upon them.
The final stanza demonstrates the most consistent use of allusion, with the poet referencing several notable "heathen" cultures from the Old Testament who suffer at the hands of God (whom they disavowed): the worshippers of Baal and the Gentiles (non-Jews, people who were not the promised children of God) were "melted like snow" in the eyes of God, who did not smile upon them. The widows of Ashur, also, are set wailing in pain. Ashur was an East Semitic god, another opponent of the Lord whose power is clearly nothing compared to his.
Thursday, July 25, 2019
How does the poet use allusion in this poem?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Why is the fact that the Americans are helping the Russians important?
In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...
-
Friar Lawrence plays a significant role in Romeo and Juliet's fate and is responsible not only for secretly marrying the two lovers but ...
-
Resourceful: Phileas Fogg doesn't let unexpected obstacles deter him. For example, when the railroad tracks all of a sudden end in India...
-
Pablo Neruda's "Ode to My Socks" is full of figurative language, including similes and metaphors. Similes are figurative compa...
-
In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...
-
I would like to start by making it clear that this story is told from the third person omniscient point of view. At no point is the story to...
-
At the beginning of the Victorian period, science was generally in accord with religion, and the study of nature was conducted in such a way...
-
In Jeanne DuPrau's sci-fi novel The City of Ember, twelve-year-old characters Lina and Doon are citizens of a post-apocalyptic society, ...
No comments:
Post a Comment