Analysis of One And One Are Two

Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)



The trumpet sounded and the dead
Came forth from earth and ocean,
And Pickering arose and sped
Aloft with wobbling motion.

'What makes him fly lop-sided?' cried
A soul of the elected.
'One ear was wax,' a rogue replied,
'And isn't resurrected.'

Below him on the pitted plain,
By his abandoned hollow,
His hair and teeth tried all in vain
The rest of him to follow.

Saint Peter, seeing him ascend,
Came forward to the wicket,
And said: 'My mutilated friend,
I'll thank you for your ticket.'

'The _Call_,' said Pickering, his hand
To reach the latch extended.
Said Peter, affable and bland:
'The free-list is suspended

'What claim have you that's valid here?'
That ancient vilifier
Reflected; then, with look austere,
Replied: 'I am a liar.'

Said Peter: 'That is simple, neat
And candid Anglo-Saxon,
But-well, come in, and take a seat
Up there by Colonel Jackson.'


Scheme ABAB CDCX EFEF GHGH IDID JJXX KBKB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (71%)
Metre 01010001 1111010 01000101 01110010 11111101 0110010 11110101 010010 01110101 1101010 11011101 0111110 11010101 1101010 0111001 1111110 01110011 1101010 11010001 0111010 11111101 1101 01011101 0111010 11011101 0101010 11100101 1111010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 843
Words 158
Sentences 11
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 94
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
83

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. more…

All Ambrose Bierce poems | Ambrose Bierce Books

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