Analysis of Christian
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
I dreamed I stood upon a hill, and, lo!
The godly multitudes walked to and fro
Beneath, in Sabbath garments fitly clad,
With pious mien, appropriately sad,
While all the church bells made a solemn din --
A fire-alarm to those who lived in sin.
Then saw I gazing thoughtfully below,
With tranquil face, upon that holy show
A tall, spare figure in a robe of white,
Whose eyes diffused a melancholy light.
'God keep you, stranger,' I exclaimed. 'You are
No doubt (your habit shows it) from afar;
And yet I entertain the hope that you,
Like these good people, are a Christian too.'
He raised his eyes and with a look so stern
It made me with a thousand blushes burn
Replied -- his manner with disdain was spiced:
'What! I a Christian? No, indeed! I'm Christ.'
Scheme | AABBCCAADDEEFFGGHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010101 010101101 010101011 1101010001 1101110101 01001111101 1111010001 1101011101 0111000111 110101001 1111010111 1111011101 011010111 1111010101 1111010111 1111010101 0111010111 1101010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 746 |
Words | 144 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 18 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 577 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 139 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 136 Views
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"Christian" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1739/christian>.
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