Analysis of A Black-List
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
'Resolved that we will post,' the tradesmen say,
'All names of debtors who do never pay.'
'Whose shall be first?' inquires the ready scribe
'Who are the chiefs of the marauding tribe?'
Lo! high Parnassus, lifting from the plain,
Upon his hoary peak, a noble fane!
Within that temple all the names are scrolled
Of village bards upon a slab of gold;
To that bad eminence, my friend, aspire,
And copy thou the Roll of Fame, entire.
Yet not to total shame those names devote,
But add in mercy this explaining note:
'These cheat because the law makes theft a crime,
And they obey all laws but laws of rhyme.'
Scheme | AABBCCDDEFDDGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111110101 1111011101 11110100101 1101100101 111010101 0111010101 0111010111 1101010111 1111001101 01010111010 1111011101 1101010101 1101011101 0101111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 598 |
Words | 117 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 464 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 110 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 75 Views
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"A Black-List" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1599/a-black-list>.
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