Analysis of Unarmed
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Saint Peter sat at the jasper gate,
When Stephen M. White arrived in state.
'Admit me.' 'With pleasure,' Peter said,
Pleased to observe that the man was dead;
'That's what I'm here for. Kindly show
Your ticket, my lord, and in you go.'
White stared in blank surprise. Said he
'I _run_ this place-just turn that key.'
'Yes?' said the Saint; and Stephen heard
With pain the inflection of that word.
But, mastering his emotion, he
Remarked: 'My friend, you're too d-- free;
'I'm Stephen M., by thunder, White!'
And, 'Yes?' the guardian said, with quite
The self-same irritating stress
Distinguishing his former yes.
And still demurely as a mouse
He twirled the key to that Upper House.
Then Stephen, seeing his bluster vain
Admittance to those halls to gain,
Said, neighborly: 'Pray tell me. Pete,
Does any one contest my seat?'
The Saint replied: 'Nay, nay, not so;
But you voted always wrong below:
'Whate'er the question, clear and high
You're voice rang: '_I_,' '_I_,' ever '_I_.''
Now indignation fired the heart
Of that insulted immortal part.
'Die, wretch!' he cried, with blanching lip,
And made a motion to his hip,
With purpose murderous and hearty,
To draw the Democratic party!
He felt his fingers vainly slide
Upon his unappareled hide
(The dead arise from their 'silent tents'
But not their late habiliments)
Then wailed-the briefest of his speeches:
'I've left it in my other breeches!'
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE DD FF GG HH II JJ CC XX KK LL DD MM XG XG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110110101 110110101 011110101 110110111 11111101 110110011 11010111 11111111 11010101 110010111 110010101 01111111 11011101 010100111 0111001 01001101 01010101 110111101 110101101 01011111 11001111 11011011 01011111 11101101 10010101 11111101 10101001 110100101 1111111 01010111 110100010 11001010 11110101 01111 010111101 11111 110101110 11101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,369 |
Words | 252 |
Sentences | 22 |
Stanzas | 19 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 38 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 56 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 12 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 104 Views
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"Unarmed" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2027/unarmed>.
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