Analysis of In High Life
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Sir Impycu Lackland, from over the sea,
Has led to the altar Miss Bloatie Bondee.
The wedding took place at the Church of St. Blare;
The fashion, the rank and the wealth were all there
No person was absent of all whom one meets.
Lord Mammon himself bowed them into their seats,
While good Sir John Satan attended the door
And Sexton Beelzebub managed the floor,
Respectfully keeping each dog to its rug,
Preserving the peace between poodle and pug.
Twelve bridesmaids escorted the bride up the aisle
To blush in her blush and to smile in her smile;
Twelve groomsmen supported the eminent groom
To scowl in his scowl and to gloom in his gloom.
The rites were performed by the hand and the lip
Of his Grace the Diocesan, Billingham Pip,
Assisted by three able-bodied divines.
He prayed and they grunted, he read, they made signs.
Such fashion, such beauty, such dressing, such grace
Were ne'er before seen in that heavenly place!
That night, full of gin, and all blazing inside,
Sir Impycu blackened the eyes of his bride.
Scheme | ABCCDDEEFFGGHHIIAJKKBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111001 111010111 01011101111 01001001011 11011011111 1101110111 11111001001 01011001 01001011111 01001011001 1101001101 11001011001 1101001001 11011011011 01001101001 11100100101 0101110101 11011011111 11011011011 01011011001 11111011001 111001111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,007 |
Words | 183 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 22 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 811 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 181 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 55 sec read
- 75 Views
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"In High Life" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1809/in-high-life>.
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