Analysis of Salvini In America
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Come, gentlemen-your gold.
Thanks: welcome to the show.
To hear a story told
In words you do not know.
Now, great Salvini, rise
And thunder through your tears,
Aha! friends, let your eyes
Interpret to your ears.
Gods! 't is a goodly game.
Observe his stride-how grand!
When legs like his declaim
Who can misunderstand?
See how that arm goes round.
It says, as plain as day:
'I love,' 'The lost is found,'
'Well met, sir,' or, 'Away!'
And mark the drawing down
Of brows. How accurate
The language of that frown:
Pain, gentlemen-or hate.
Those of the critic trade
Swear it is all as clear
As if his tongue were made
To fit an English ear.
Hear that Italian phrase!
Greek to your sense, 't is true;
But shrug, expression, gaze
Well, they are Grecian too.
But it is Art! God wot
Its tongue to all is known.
Faith! he to whom 't were not
Would better hold his own.
Shakespeare says act and word
Must match together true.
From what you've seen and heard,
How can you doubt they do?
Enchanting drama! Mark
The crowd 'from pit to dome',
One box alone is dark
The prompter stays at home.
Stupendous artist! You
Are lord of joy and woe:
We thrill if you say 'Boo,'
And thrill if you say 'Bo.'
Scheme | ABAB CXCX DEDE FGFG HXHX IXIX JKJK ALXL MKMK NONO KBKB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (73%) |
Metre | 110011 110101 110101 011111 1111 010111 11111 010111 1110101 011111 111101 11001 111111 111111 111111 111101 010101 111100 010111 110011 110101 111111 111101 111101 110101 1111111 110101 111101 111111 111111 1111101 110111 11101 110101 111101 111111 010101 011111 110111 01111 010101 111101 111111 011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,147 |
Words | 230 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 81 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 92 Views
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"Salvini In America" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1887/salvini-in-america>.
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