A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices

Stephen Crane 1871 – 1900



A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices
Which, bawled by boys from mile to mile,
Spreads its curious opinion
To a million merciful and sneering men,
While families cuddle the joys of the fireside
When spurred by tale of dire lone agony.

A newspaper is a court
Where every one is kindly and unfairly tried
By a squalor of honest men.

A newspaper is a market
Where wisdom sells its freedom
And melons are crowned by the crowd.

A newspaper is a game
Where his error scores the player victory
While another's skill wins death.

A newspaper is a symbol;
It is feckless life's chronicle,
A collection of loud tales
Concentrating eternal stupidities,
That in remote ages lived unhaltered,
Roaming through a fenceless world.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

38 sec read
175

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXXBCD XCB XXX XDX EEXACX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 729
Words 126
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 3, 3, 3, 6

Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane was an American politician from Elizabethtown who was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776. more…

All Stephen Crane poems | Stephen Crane Books

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    "A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/35661/a-newspaper-is-a-collection-of-half-injustices>.

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    Quiz

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    How many syllables an Iambic Pentameter line must have?
    A 12
    B 10
    C 3
    D 20