Analysis of Tempora Mutantur
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
'The world is dull,' I cried in my despair:
'Its myths and fables are no longer fair.
'Roll back thy centuries, O Father Time.
To Greece transport me in her golden prime.
'Give back the beautiful old Gods again
The sportive Nymphs, the Dryad's jocund train,
'Pan piping on his reeds, the Naiades,
The Sirens singing by the sleepy seas.
'Nay, show me but a Gorgon and I'll dare
To lift mine eyes to her peculiar hair
'(The fatal horrors of her snaky pate,
That stiffen men into a stony state)
'And die-erecting, as my soul goes hence,
A statue of myself, without expense.'
Straight as I spoke I heard the voice of Fate:
'Look up, my lad, the Gorgon sisters wait.'
Raising my eyes, I saw Medusa stand,
Stheno, Euryale, on either hand.
I gazed unpetrified and unappalled
The girls had aged and were entirely bald!
Scheme | AA BB XX CC AA DD CC DD EE DX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 0111110101 1101011101 1111001101 1101100101 1101001101 0110111 11011101 0101010101 1111010011 1111100101 010101011 1101010101 0101011111 01110101 1111110111 1111010101 1011110101 111101 11101 01110001001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 799 |
Words | 152 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 62 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 15 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 101 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Tempora Mutantur" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1902/tempora-mutantur>.
Discuss this Ambrose Bierce poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In