Analysis of Mad
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
O ye who push and fight
To hear a wanton sing
Who utter the delight
That has the bogus ring,
O men mature in years,
In understanding young,
The membranes of whose ears
She tickles with her tongue,-
O wives and daughters sweet,
Who call it love of art
To kiss a woman's feet
That crush a woman's heart,
O prudent dams and sires,
Your docile young who bring
To see how man admires
A sinner if she sing,
O husbands who impart
To each assenting spouse
The lesson that shall start
The buds upon your brows,
All whose applauding hands
Assist to rear the fame
That throws o'er all the lands
The shadow of its shame,
Go drag her car!-the mud
Through which its axle rolls
Is partly human blood
And partly human souls.
Mad, mad!-your senses whirl
Like devils dancing free,
Because a strolling girl
Can hold the note high C.
For this the avenging rod
Of Heaven ye dare defy,
And tear the law that God
Thundered from Sinai!
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GBGB FXFX HIHI JKJK LMLM NONO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (89%) |
Metre | 111101 110101 110001 110101 110101 00101 01111 110101 110101 111111 110101 110101 110101 110111 111101 010111 110101 1111 010111 010111 110101 011101 1110101 01111 110101 111101 110101 010101 111101 110101 010101 110111 1100101 1101101 010111 1011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 884 |
Words | 177 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 80 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 135 Views
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