Analysis of An Augury
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Upon my desk a single spray,
With starry blossoms fraught.
I write in many an idle way,
Thinking one serious thought.
'O flowers, a fine Greek name ye bear,
And with a fine Greek grace.'
Be still, O heart, that turns to share
The sunshine of a face.
'Have ye no messages-no brief,
Still sign: 'Despair', or 'Hope'?'
A sudden stir of stem and leaf-
A breath of heliotrope!
| Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
| Metre | 01110101 110101 110101101 1011001 110011111 010111 11111111 01101 11110011 110111 01011101 011100 |
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 368 |
| Words | 73 |
| Sentences | 7 |
| Stanzas | 3 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4 |
| Lines Amount | 12 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
| Words per line (avg) | 6 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 93 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
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"An Augury" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1690/an-augury>.
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