Analysis of Couplets
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
I am for Cutting. I'm a blade
Designed for use at dress parade.
My gleaming length, when I display
Peace rules the land with gentle sway;
But when the war-dogs bare their teeth
Go seek me in the modest sheath.
I am for Cutting. Not for me
The task of setting nations free.
Let soulless blades take human life,
My softer metal shuns the strife.
The annual review is mine,
When gorgeous shopmen sweat and shine,
And Biddy, tip-toe on the pave,
Adores the cobble-trotting brave.
I am for Cutting. 'Tis not mine
To hew amain the hostile line;
Not mine all pitiless to spread
The plain with tumuli of dead.
My grander duty lies afar
From haunts of the insane hussar,
Where charging horse and struggling foot
Are grimed alike with cannon-soot.
When Loveliness and Valor meet
Beneath the trees to dance, and eat,
And sing, and much beside, behold
My golden glories all unfold!
There formidably are displayed
The useful horrors of my blade
In time of feast and dance and ballad,
I am for cutting chicken salad.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGFFHHIJKKLLMMAANN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11110101 01111101 11011101 11011101 11011111 11100101 11110111 01110101 11011101 11010101 0100111 1101101 01011101 01010101 11110111 1110101 11110011 011111 11010101 11100110 110101001 11011101 110101 01011101 01010101 11010101 11000101 01010111 011101010 111101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 981 |
Words | 182 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 30 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 791 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 180 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 91 Views
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"Couplets" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1750/couplets>.
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