Analysis of An 'Exhibit'
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Goldenson hanged! Well, Heaven forbid
That I should smile above him:
Though truth to tell, I never did
Exactly love him.
It can't be wrong, though, to rejoice
That his unpleasing capers
Are ended. Silent is his voice
In all the papers.
No longer he's a show: no more,
Bear-like, his den he's walking.
No longer can he hold the floor
When I'd be talking.
The laws that govern jails are bad
If such displays are lawful.
The fate of the assassin's sad,
But ours is awful!
What! shall a wretch condemned to die
In shame upon the gibbet
Be set before the public eye
As an 'exhibit'?
His looks, his actions noted down,
His words if light or solemn,
And all this hawked about the town
So much a column?
The press, of course, will publish news
However it may get it;
But blast the sheriff who'll abuse
His powers to let it!
Nay, this is not ingratitude;
I'm no reporter, truly,
Nor yet an editor. I'm rude
Because unruly
Because I burn with shame and rage
Beyond my power of telling
To see assassins in a cage
And keepers yelling.
'Walk up! Walk up!' the showman cries:
'Observe the lion's poses,
His stormy mane, his glooming eyes.
His-hold your noses!'
How long, O Lord, shall Law and Right
Be mocked for gain or glory,
And angels weep as they recite
The shameful story?
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IAIJ KLKL XJXJ AMXM NFNF OXOX PMPM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (82%) |
Metre | 100111001 1111011 11111101 01011 11111101 11110 11010111 01010 11010111 1111110 11011101 11110 01110111 1101110 01100101 110110 11010111 010101 11010101 11010 11110101 1111110 01110101 11010 01111101 101111 11010101 110111 11111 1101010 11110011 01010 01111101 01110110 11010001 01010 11110101 0101010 1101111 11110 11111101 1111110 01011101 01010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,229 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 88 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 98 Views
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"An 'Exhibit'" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1696/an-%27exhibit%27>.
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