The Portrayal of War in On the Idle Hill and The Destruction of Sennach

The Portrayal of War in On the Idle Hill and The closing of SennacheribThe structure of these 2 numberss argon similar but comparisons can be madebetween On the idle hill and The destruction of SennacheribAlthough the content is similar the title, tone, language, devices,structure and punctuation are very different.In the early 1800s when Byron wrote The destruction of Sennacheriba large war campaign was occurring The Napoleonic Wars. The warssurrounding him would effect his view on war. In the advanced 1800s whenHousman wrote On the idle hill, no major battle was occurring.However, ironically within 20 years of this poem more lads werebeing sent to the licking in World War One.The titles of the two poems are very different. On the idle hillportrays a very passive image, whereas Destruction of Sennacherib isvery active. Byrons poem is a stereotype of war. The title showsaction and it brings a sense of all encompassing. Whereas On the idlehill shows laziness as idle personifies t he hill fashioning the startof the poem peaceful and natural. This image contradicts war, which isvery ironic.The two poems by Byron and Housman portray war. On the idle hill isa very natural affair. The Destruction of Sennacherib is a veryviolent and graphic event. Both of the poems show the beginning andthe end of the battle and misses out the actual war. This firstlyleaves the battle to the readers imagination so it can be interpreteddifferently, and secondly it makes the reader concentrate of theconsequences. Although Byrons poem doesnt show the battle it has abrutal and horrific image of the aftermath, the foam of his gasping impersonate white on the turf. This makes the battle s... ...ay. On the Idle hillfinishes with two war instruments calling back from the battle. Thismay be reflecting back to the initial lackadaisical state. When it says,woman bore me, I will rise it can be read in many different ways. Itcan be read into as a prototype that war may rise again because i t isinevitable. Or it can alternatively be read as there being a female solve in nature that will rise up. Altogether it is a positiveending that shows Humanity versus evil. The Destruction ofSennacherib has a very religious ending. It ends with the all thesoldiers dead. graven image killed the Assyrians because they killed the holypeople. There is a strong reference to nature that may be a referenceto God, Hath melted like snow.Both of the poems are finish extremely differently, On the idle hillis optimistic and Destruction of Sennacherib is pessimistic.