Analysis of A Controversialist
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
I've sometimes wished that Ingersoll were wise
To hold his tongue, nor rail against the skies;
For when he's made a point some pious dunce
Like Bartlett of the _Bulletin_ 'replies.'
I brandish no iconoclastic fist,
Nor enter the debate an atheist;
But when they say there is a God I ask
Why Bartlett, then, is suffered to exist.
Even infidels that logic might resent,
Saying: 'There's no place for his punishment
That's worse than earth.' But humbly I submit
That he would make a hell wherever sent.
Scheme | AAAA BXXB CXXC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (33%) |
Metre | 1011110001 1111110101 1111011101 11010101 110100101 1100011100 1111110111 1101110101 10100110101 1011111100 1111110101 1111010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 496 |
Words | 92 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 131 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 28 sec read
- 52 Views
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"A Controversialist" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1610/a-controversialist>.
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