The phrase goes back at least as far as 1597, when William Shakespeare wrote "Be stirring as the time; be fire with fire; Threaten the threatener and outface the brow of bragging horror" in his play "The Life and Death of King John" [source: Martin]. In other words, match aggression...
The structure of the poem is significant, as it adds to the drama of the battle. The poem is divided into six stanzas, with each stanza representing a different round of the fight. The stanzas are short and concise, with each one capturing the essence of the battle. The use of short s...