Analysis of An Idler
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
Who told Creed Haymond he was witty?-who
Had nothing better in this world to do?
Could no greased pig's appeal to his embrace
Kindle his ardor for the friendly chase?
Did no dead dog upon a vacant lot,
Bloated and bald, or curdled in a clot,
Stir his compassion and inspire his arms
To hide from human eyes its faded charms?
If not to works of piety inclined,
Then recreation might have claimed his mind.
The harmless game that shows the feline greed
To cinch the shorts and make the market bleed
Is better sport than victimizing Creed;
And a far livelier satisfaction comes
Of knowing Simon, autocrat of thumbs.
If neither worthy work nor play command
This gentleman of leisure's heart and hand,
Then Mammon might his idle spirit lift
By hope of profit to some deed of thrift.
Is there no cheese to pare, no flint to skin,
No tin to mend, no glass to be put in,
No housewife worthy of a morning visit,
Her rags and sacks and bottles to solicit?
Lo! the blind sow's precarious pursuit
Of the aspiring oak's familiar fruit!
'Twould more advantage any man to steal
This easy victim's undefended meal
Than tell Creed Haymond he has wit, and so
Expose the state to his narcotic flow!
Scheme | AABBCCDD EEFFFGGHHIIJJXXKKLLMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011101 1101001111 1111011101 1011010101 1111010101 100111001 1101000111 1111011101 1111110001 101011111 010111011 1101010101 1101110001 0011000101 110101011 1101011101 110011101 111110101 1111011111 1111111111 1111111110 1110101010 01010101010 1011010001 1001010101 1101010111 1101011 1111011101 0101110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,159 |
Words | 218 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 21 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 467 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 108 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 129 Views
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"An Idler" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1699/an-idler>.
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