Analysis of The Hermit
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
To a hunter from the city,
Overtaken by the night,
Spake, in tones of tender pity
For himself, an aged wight:
'I have found the world a fountain
Of deceit and Life a sham.
I have taken to the mountain
And a Holy Hermit am.
'Sternly bent on Contemplation,
Far apart from human kind
In the hill my habitation,
In the Infinite my mind.
'Ten long years I've lived a dumb thing,
Growing bald and bent with dole.
Vainly seeking for a Something
To engage my gloomy soul.
'Gentle Pilgrim, while my roots you
Eat, and quaff my simple drink,
Please suggest whatever suits you
As a Theme for me to Think.'
Then the hunter answered gravely:
'From distraction free, and strife,
You could ponder very bravely
On the Vanity of Life.'
'O, thou wise and learned Teacher,
You have solved the Problem well
You have saved a grateful creature
From the agonies of hell.
'Take another root, another
Cup of water: eat and drink.
Now I have a Subject, brother,
Tell me What, and How, to think.'
Scheme | ABAB CDCD CECE FGFG HIHI AJAJ KLKL KIKI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 10101010 100101 10111010 101111 11101010 1010101 11101010 0010101 1011010 1011101 0011010 0010011 11111011 1010111 10101010 1011101 10101111 1011101 1011011 1011111 10101010 1010101 11101010 1010011 1110110 1110101 11101010 1010011 10101010 1110101 11100110 1110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 946 |
Words | 183 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 94 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 46 Views
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"The Hermit" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1932/the-hermit>.
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