Byron’s poem dramatizes the supernatural defeat of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, when “the Angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses — all dead” (2 KINGS 19 : 35).
Dust to Dust
When Rosencrantz and Gildenstern ask Hamlet what he had done with Polonius’ body, Hamlet replies, “Compounded it with dust, whereto ’tis kin” (IV, ii). GENESIS 2 : 7; 3 : 19; JOB 10 : 9; 33 : 6 and ISAIAH 64 : 8 all testify that not only Adam, but all men are composed of dust and clay.
Purity
In one of the most recognizable passages of the Old Testament, Isaiah pleads with the sin-full people of Judah, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool” (ISAIAH 1:18). […]