Analysis of Again
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Well, I've met her again-at the Mission.
She'd told me to see her no more;
It was not a command-a petition;
I'd granted it once before.
Yes, granted it, hoping she'd write me.
Repenting her virtuous freak-
Subdued myself daily and nightly
For the better part of a week.
And then ('twas my duty to spare her
The shame of recalling me) I
Just sought her again to prepare her
For an everlasting good-bye.
O, that evening of bliss-shall I ever
Forget it?-with Shakespeare and Poe!
She said, when 'twas ended: 'You're never
To see me again. And now go.'
As we parted with kisses 'twas human
And natural for me to smile
As I thought, 'She's in love, and a woman:
She'll send for me after a while.'
But she didn't; and so-well, the Mission
Is fine, picturesque and gray;
It's an excellent place for contrition
And sometimes she passes that way.
That's how it occurred that I met her,
And that's ah there is to tell-
Except that I'd like to forget her
Calm way of remarking: 'I'm well.'
It was hardly worth while, all this keying
My soul to such tensions and stirs
To learn that her food was agreeing
With that little stomach of hers.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF EGEG AHAH AIAI EJEJ KLKL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1110011010 11111011 1110010010 1101101 110110111 01001001 01110010 10101101 011110110 01101011 110011010 1101011 1110111110 0111101 111110110 11101011 1110110110 01001111 1111010010 11111001 1110011010 1110001 1110011010 00111011 111011110 0111111 011111010 11101011 1110111110 11111001 111011010 11101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,103 |
Words | 215 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 107 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 69 Views
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"Again" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1683/again>.
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