Analysis of On A Proposed Crematory
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
When a fair bridge is builded o'er the gulf
Between two cities, some ambitious fool,
Hot for distinction, pleads for earliest leave
To push his clumsy feet upon the span,
That men in after years may single him,
Saying: 'Behold the fool who first went o'er!'
So be it when, as now the promise is,
Next summer sees the edifice complete
Which some do name a crematorium,
Within the vantage of whose greater maw's
Quicker digestion we shall cheat the worm
And circumvent the handed mole who loves,
With tunnel, adit, drift and roomy stope,
To mine our mortal parts in all their dips
And spurs and angles. Let the fool stand forth
To link his name with this fair enterprise,
As first decarcassed by the flame. And if
With rival greedings for the fiery fame
They push in clamoring multitudes, or if
With unaccustomed modesty they all
Hold off, being something loth to qualify,
Let me select the fittest for the rite.
By heaven! I'll make so warrantable, wise
And excellent censure of their true deserts,
And such a searching canvass of their claims,
That none shall bait the ballot. I'll spread my choice
Upon the main and general of those
Who, moved of holy impulse, pulpit-born,
Protested 'twere a sacrilege to burn
God's gracious images, designed to rot,
And bellowed for the right of way for each
Distempered carrion through the water pipes.
With such a sturdy, boisterous exclaim
They did discharge themselves from their own throats
Against the splintered gates of audience
'Twere wholesomer to take them in at mouth
Than ear. These shall burn first: their ignible
And seasoned substances-trunks, legs and arms,
Blent indistinguishable in a mass,
Like winter-woven serpents in a pit
None vantaged of his fellow-fools in point
Of precedence, and all alive-shall serve
As fueling to fervor the retort
For after cineration of true men.
Scheme | Text too long |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011111001 0111010101 11010111001 1111010101 1101011101 10010111110 1111110101 1101010001 1111000100 0101011101 1001011101 001010111 110110101 11101010111 0101010111 111111110 11110101 1101101001 1101001011 101010011 1110101110 1101010101 11011111 01001011110 0101010111 11110101111 0101010011 1111010101 0101010011 1101000111 0101011111 110010101 1101010001 1101011111 0101011100 11111011 11111111 0101001101 1001000001 1101010001 111110101 1100010111 11011001 1101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,796 |
Words | 316 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 44 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,464 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 313 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 101 Views
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"On A Proposed Crematory" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1849/on-a-proposed-crematory>.
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