Analysis of Beecher

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



So, Beecher's dead. His was a great soul, too
Great as a giant organ is, whose reeds
Hold in them all the souls of all the creeds
That man has ever taught and never knew.

When on this mighty instrument He laid
His hand Who fashioned it, our common moan
Was suppliant in its thundering. The tone
Grew more vivacious when the Devil played.

No more those luring harmonies we hear,
And lo! already men forget the sound.
They turn, retracing all the dubious ground
O'er which it led them, pigwise, by the ear.


Scheme ABBA CDDC EFFE
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 111110111 1101010111 1011011101 1111010101 1111010011 11110110101 110110001 1101010101 1111010011 0101010101 11010101001 1011111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 501
Words 96
Sentences 8
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 131
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

29 sec read
73

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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    The repetition of similar sounds at the ends of words or within words is known as _______.
    A imagery
    B rhythm
    C rhyme
    D stanza