Analysis of The Tables Turned

Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)



Over the man the street car ran,
And the driver did never grin.
'O killer of men, pray tell me when
Your laughter means to begin.

'Ten years to a day I've observed you slay,
And I never have missed before
Your jubilant peals as your crunching wheels
Were spattered with human gore.

'Why is it, my boy, that you smother your joy,
And why do you make no sign
Of the merry mind that is dancing behind
A solemner face than mine?'

The driver replied: 'I would laugh till I cried
If I had bisected you;
But I'd like to explain, if I can for the pain,
'T is myself that I've cut in two.'


Scheme XAXA XBXB XCXC XDXD
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 10010111 00101101 110111111 1101101 1110110111 01101101 1100111101 0101101 11111111011 0111111 10101111001 01111 01001111111 11111 111101111101 11111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 573
Words 120
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 110
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 27, 2023

36 sec read
133

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. more…

All Ambrose Bierce poems | Ambrose Bierce Books

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