Analysis of Emancipation
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Behold! the days of miracle at last
Return-if ever they were truly past:
From sinful creditors' unholy greed
The church called Calvary at last is freed
So called for there the Savior's crucified,
Roberts and Carmany on either side.
The circling contribution-box no more
Provokes the nod and simulated snore;
No more the Lottery, no more the Fair,
Lure the reluctant dollar from its lair,
Nor Ladies' Lunches at a bit a bite
Destroy the health yet spare the appetite,
While thrifty sisters o'er the cauldron stoop
To serve their God with zeal, their friends with soup,
And all the brethren mendicate the earth
With viewless placards: 'We've been _so_ from birth!'
Sure of his wage, the pastor now can lend
His whole attention to his latter end,
Remarking with a martyr's prescient thrill
The Hemp maturing on the cheerless Hill.
The holy brethren, lifting pious palms,
Pour out their gratitude in prayer and psalms,
Chant _De Profundis_, meaning 'out of debt,'
And dance like mad-or would if they were let.
Deeply disguised (a deacon newly dead
Supplied the means) Jack Satan holds his head
As high as any and as loudly sings
His _jubilate_ till each rafter rings.
'Rejoice, ye ever faithful,' bellows he,
'The debt is lifted and the temple free!'
Then says, aside, with gentle cachination:
'I've got a mortgage on the congregation.'
Scheme | AABBCC DDEEFFGGHH IIJJXXKK LLMMNNOO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101110011 0111010101 1101000101 0111001111 111101010 1001001101 0100010111 010101001 1101001101 1001010111 1101010101 010111010 11010100101 1111111111 01010101 111011111 1111010111 1101011101 0101011001 010101011 0101010101 111100101 11110111 0111111101 1001010101 0101110111 1111001101 1111101 0111010101 0111000101 11011101 1101010010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,309 |
Words | 233 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 10, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 264 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 50 Views
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"Emancipation" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1768/emancipation>.
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