Analysis of A Fool
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Says Anderson, Theosophist:
'Among the many that exist
In modern halls,
Some lived in ancient Egypt's clime
And in their childhood saw the prime
Of Karnak's walls.'
Ah, Anderson, if that is true
'T is my conviction, sir, that you
Are one of those
That once resided by the Nile,
Peer to the sacred Crocodile,
Heir to his woes.
My judgment is, the holy Cat
Mews through your larynx (and your hat)
These many years.
Through you the godlike Onion brings
Its melancholy sense of things,
And moves to tears.
In you the Bull divine again
Bellows and paws the dusty plain,
To nature true.
I challenge not his ancient hate
But, lowering my knurly pate,
Lock horns with you.
And though Reincarnation prove
A creed too stubborn to remove,
And all your school
Of Theosophs I cannot scare
All the more earnestly I swear
That you're a fool.
You'll say that this is mere abuse
Without, in fraying you, a use.
That's plain to see
With only half an eye. Come, now,
Be fair, be fair,-consider how
It eases _me_!
Scheme | AABCCB DDEFFE AAXGGX XXDAAD HHIJJI KKXLLC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11001 01010101 0101 11010101 0011101 111 11001111 111010111 1111 11010101 1101010 1111 11010101 11110011 1101 1101101 1100111 0111 01010101 10010101 1101 11011101 1100111 1111 01000101 01110101 0111 111101 10110011 1101 11111101 01010101 1111 11011111 11110101 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 966 |
Words | 185 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 129 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 56 Views
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