Analysis of Liberty
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
''Let there be Liberty!' God said, and, lo!
The red skies all were luminous. The glow
Struck first Columbia's kindling mountain peaks
One hundred and eleven years ago!'
So sang a patriot whom once I saw
Descending Bunker's holy hill. With awe
I noted that he shone with sacred light,
Like Moses with the tables of the Law.
One hundred and eleven years? O small
And paltry period compared with all
The tide of centuries that flowed and ebbed
To etch Yosemite's divided wall!
Ah, Liberty, they sing you always young
Whose harps are in your adoration strung
(Each swears you are his countrywoman, too,
And speak no language but his mother tongue).
And truly, lass, although with shout and horn
Man has all-hailed you from creation's morn,
I cannot think you old-I think, indeed,
You are by twenty centuries unborn.
Scheme | AAXA BXXB CCXC DDXD EEXE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 1111001101 0111010001 11010010101 1100010101 1101001111 010110111 1101111101 1101010101 1100010111 0101000111 01110011010 1110101 110011111 111010101 1111111 0111011101 010111101 11111111 1101111101 1111010011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 800 |
Words | 145 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 127 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 133 Views
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"Liberty" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1827/liberty>.
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