Analysis of Dies Irae

Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)



Dies irae! dies ilia!
Solvet saeclum in favilla
Teste David cum Sibylla.

Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando Judex est venturus.
Cuncta stricte discussurus.

Tuba mirum spargens sonum
Per sepulchra regionem,
Coget omnes ante thronum.

Mors stupebit, et Natura,
Quum resurget creatura
Judicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur,
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo quum sedebit,
Quicquid latet apparebit,
Nil inultum remanebit.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus,
Quem patronem rogaturus,
Quum vix justus sit securus?

Rex tremendae majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis;
Salva me, Fons pietatis

Recordare, Jesu pie
Quod sum causa tuae viae;
Ne me perdas illa die.

Quarens me sedisti lassus
Redimisti crucem passus,
Tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste Judex ultionis,
Donum fac remissionis
Ante diem rationis.

Ingemisco tanquam reus,
Culpa rubet vultus meus;
Supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae,
Sed tu bonus fac benigne
Ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praesta.
Et ab haedis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.

Confutatis maledictis,
Flammis acribus addictis,
Voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis;
Gere curam mei finis.

Lacrymosa dies illa
Qua resurgent et favilla,
Judicandus homo reus
Huic ergo parce, Deus!


Scheme AAA BBB CCC DDD DDD EEE BBB BBB XXE BBB BBB BBB EEE FFF EDD BBB BBB AABB
Poetic Form
Metre 1111 1101 11011 110011 11011 111 101110 111 11101 1111 111 11 111 0111 111 11011 111 111 111011 111 111011 111 111010 10111 111 11111 11111 1111 111 110111 111 111 1011 111 10111 111 11001 111 1111 11111 111011 11101 01111 11111 10110 11 111 1111 10111 11101 1111 111 101011 1101 11011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,320
Words 205
Sentences 22
Stanzas 18
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4
Lines Amount 55
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 62
Words per stanza (avg) 11
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:01 min read
79

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. more…

All Ambrose Bierce poems | Ambrose Bierce Books

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