Analysis of Decalogue
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Thou shalt no God but me adore:
'Twere too expensive to have more.
No images nor idols make
For Roger Ingersoll to break.
Take not God's name in vain: select
A time when it will have effect.
Work not on Sabbath days at all,
But go to see the teams play ball.
Honor thy parents. That creates
For life insurance lower rates.
Kill not, abet not those who kill;
Thou shalt not pay thy butcher's bill.
Kiss not thy neighbor's wife, unless
Thine own thy neighbor doth caress.
Don't steal; thou'lt never thus compete
Successfully in business. Cheat.
Bear not false witness--that is low--
But 'hear 'tis rumored so and so.'
Covet thou naught that thou hast got
By hook or crook, or somehow, got.
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH II JJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Couplet |
Metre | 11111101 11010111 11001101 11010011 11110101 01111101 11110111 11110111 10110101 11010101 11011111 11111101 11110101 11110101 11110101 01000101 11110111 11110101 10111111 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 744 |
Words | 128 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 53 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 13 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 17, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 132 Views
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"Decalogue" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1754/decalogue>.
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