Analysis of Genesis [God said: 'Let there be Man,' and from the clay]

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



God said: 'Let there be Man,' and from the clay
Adam came forth and, thoughtful, walked away.
The matrix whence his body was obtained,
An empty, man-shaped cavity, remained
All unregarded from that early time
Till in a recent storm it filled with slime.
Now Satan, envying the Master's power
To make the meat himself could but devour,
Strolled to the place and, standing by the pool,
Exerted all his will to make a fool.
A miracle!-from out that ancient hole
Rose Morehouse, lacking nothing but a soul.
'To give him that I've not the power divine,'
Said Satan, sadly, 'but I'll lend him mine.'
He breathed it into him, a vapor black,
And to this day has never got it back.


Scheme AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110101 1011010101 0101110101 1101110001 1111101 1001011111 110101010 11010111010 1101010101 0101111101 0100111101 111010101 11111101001 1101011111 1110110101 0111110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 665
Words 128
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 516
Words per stanza (avg) 122
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
116

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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