And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on ...

Theme Death: war always brings death and destruction. The planned Assyrian ... unsmote by the sword,/ Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!’ At the start of the poem the might of ...