Analysis of A Military Incident
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Dawn heralded the coming sun
Fort Douglas was computing
The minutes-and the sunrise gun
Was manned for his saluting.
The gunner at that firearm stood,
The which he slowly loaded,
When, bang!-I know not how it could,
But sure the charge exploded!
Yes, to that veteran's surprise
The gun went off sublimely,
And both his busy arms likewise
Went off with it, untimely.
Then said that gunner to his mate
(He was from Ballyshannon):
'Bedad, the sun's a minute late,
Accardin' to this cannon!'
| Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GAGA |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Pantoum Quatrain |
| Metre | 11000101 1101010 0100011 1111010 01011101 0111010 11111111 1101010 11110001 01111 0111011 1111010 11110111 1111 1010101 11110 |
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 480 |
| Words | 88 |
| Sentences | 6 |
| Stanzas | 4 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
| Lines Amount | 16 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
| Words per line (avg) | 5 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 26 sec read
- 108 Views
2 fans
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Military Incident" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1637/a-military-incident>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss this Ambrose Bierce poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In