Analysis of The Subdued Editor
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Pope-choker Pixley sat in his den
A-chewin' upon his quid.
He thought it was Leo Thirteen, and then
He bit it intenser, he did.
The amber which overflew from the cud
Like rivers which burst out of bounds
'Twas peculiar grateful to think it blood
A-gushin' from Papal wounds.
A knockin' was heard uponto the door
Where some one a-waitin' was.
'Come in,' said the shedder of priestly gore,
Arrestin' to once his jaws.
The person which entered was curly of hair
And smilin' as ever you see;
His eyes was blue, and uncommon fair
Was his physiognomee.
And yet there was some'at remarkable grand
And the editor says as he looks:
'Your Height' (it was Highness, you understand,
That he meant, but he spoke like books)
'Your Height, I am in. I'm the editor man
Of this paper-which is to say,
I'm the owner, too, and it's alway ran
In the independentest way!
'Not a damgaloot can interfere,
A-shapin' my course for me:
This paper's (and nothing can make it veer)
Pixleian in policee!'
'It's little to me,' said the sunny youth,
'If journals is better or worse
Where I am to home they won't keep, in truth,
The climate is that perverse.
'I've come, howsomever, your mind to light
With a more superior fire:
You'll have naught hencefor'ard to do but write,
While I sets by and inspire.
'We'll make it hot all round, bedad!'
And his laughture was loud and free.
'The devil!' cried Pixley, surpassin' mad.
'Exactly, my friend-that's me.'
So he took a chair and a feather fan,
And he sets and sets and sets,
Inspirin' that humbled editor man,
Which sweats and sweats and sweats!
All unavailin' his struggles be,
And it's, O, a weepin' sight
To see a great editor bold and free
Reducted to sech a plight!
Scheme | ABAB BCXX DXDX EFEX GHGH IJIJ KFKC LMLM NXNX BFXF IOIO FNFN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (58%) |
Metre | 11101011 010111 1111101101 111111 01011101 11011111 1010101111 011101 0111101 111011 101011101 11111 01011011011 0111011 111100101 111 01111101001 001001111 111110101 11111111 11110101001 11101111 101010111 0011 101101 011111 1100101111 101 1101110101 11011011 1111111101 0101101 1111111 101010010 11111111 1111001 1111111 0111101 01011011 0101111 1110100101 0110101 11101001 110101 111101 011011 1101100101 11101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,650 |
Words | 313 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 107 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 119 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Subdued Editor" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1975/the-subdued-editor>.
Discuss this Ambrose Bierce poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In