Analysis of Over The Border
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
O, justice, you have fled, to dwell
In Mexico, unstrangled,
Lest you should hang as high as-well,
As Haman dangled.
(I know not if his cord he twanged,
Or the King proved forgiving.
'Tis hard to think of Haman hanged,
And Haymond living.)
Yes, as I said: in mortal fear
To Mexico you journeyed;
For you were on your trial here,
And ill attorneyed.
The Law had long regarded you
As an extreme offender.
Religion looked upon you, too,
With thoughts untender.
The Press to you was cold as snow,
For sin you'd always call so.
In Politics you were _de trop_,
In Morals also.
All this is accurately true
And, faith! there might be more said;
But-well, to save your thrapple you
Fled, as aforesaid.
You're down in Mexico-that's plain
As that the sun is risen;
For Daniel Burns, down there, his chain
Drags round in prison.
Scheme | ABAB BCBC DBXB EXBD FFXF EBEB GHGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (86%) |
Metre | 11011111 0101 11111111 11010 11111111 1011010 11111101 01010 11110101 110110 11011101 011 01110101 1101010 01010111 111 01111111 111111 0101011 01010 11110001 0111111 1111111 1101 1101011 1101110 11011111 11010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 796 |
Words | 151 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 89 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 19, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 70 Views
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"Over The Border" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1864/over-the-border>.
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