Analysis of J.F.B.
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
How well this man unfolded to our view
The world's beliefs of Death and Heaven and Hell
This man whose own convictions none could tell,
Nor if his maze of reason had a clew.
Dogmas he wrote for daily bread, but knew
The fair philosophies of doubt so well
That while we listened to his words there fell
Some that were strangely comforting, though true.
Marking how wise we grew upon his doubt,
We said: 'If so, by groping in the night,
He can proclaim some certain paths of trust,
How great our profit if he saw about
His feet the highways leading to the light.'
Now he sees all. Ah, Christ! his mouth is dust!
Scheme | ABBBABBACDECDE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101101 01011101001 1111010111 1111110101 111110111 0101001111 1111011111 1101010011 1011110111 1111110001 1101110111 11101011101 110110101 1111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 604 |
Words | 119 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 476 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 116 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 192 Views
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