A "Born Leader of Men"
Tuckerton Tamerlane Morey MahoshIs a statesman of world-wide fame,With a notable knack at rhetorical boshTo glorify somebody's name--Somebody chosen by Tuckerton's mastersTo succor the country from divers disastersPortentous to Mr. Mahosh.
Percy O'Halloran Tarpy CabeeIs in the political swim.He cares not a button for men, not he:Great principles captivate him--Principles cleverly cut out and fittedTo Percy's capacity, duly submitted,And fought for by Mr. Cabee.
Drusus Turn Swinnerton Porfer FitzurseHolds office the most of his life.For men nor for principles cares he a curse,But much for his neighbor's wife.The Ship of State leaks, but he doesn't pump any,Messrs. Mahosh, Cabee & CompanyPump for good Mr. Fitzurse.
Words in this poem
- knack v. i.
- To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink. [Obs. or Prov. [Prob. of imitative origin; cf. G. knacken to break, Dan. knage to crack, and E. knock.]
- bosh n.
- Figure; outline; show. [Cf. G. posse joke, trifle; It. bozzo a rough stone, bozzetto a rough sketch, s-bozzo a rough draught, sketch.]
- glorify v. t.
- To make glorious by bestowing glory upon; to confer honor and distinction upon; to elevate to power or happiness, or to celestial glory. [F. glorifier, L. glorificare; gloria glory + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.]
- somebody n.
- A person unknown or uncertain; a person indeterminate; some person.
- divers a.
- Different in kind or species; diverse. [F. divers, L. diversus turned in different directions, different, p. p. of divertere. See Divert, and cf. Diverse.]
- portentous a.
- Of the nature of a portent; containing portents; foreschadowing, esp. foreschadowing ill; ominous. [L. portentosus.]
- captivate v. t.
- To take prisoner; to capture; to subdue. [L. captivatus, p. p. of captivare to capture, fr. captivus captive. See Captive.]
- cleverly adv.
- In a clever manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A "Born Leader of Men" is in the public domain. This text is taken from Shapes of Clay (1903), Project Gutenberg ebook #12658; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ambrose Bierce, A "Born Leader of Men", in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/a-born-leader-of-men.html, id L28026.
Form and metre
A "Born Leader of Men" is 21 lines in 3 stanzas of 7 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCCA. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCCA mahoshA · fameB · boshA · nameB · mastersC · disastersC · mahoshA
- 2 ABABCCA cabeeA · swimB · heA · himB · fittedC · submittedC · cabeeA
- 3 ABABCCA fitzurseA · lifeB · curseA · wifeB · anyC · companyC · fitzurseA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Tuckerton Tamerlane Morey Mahosh | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Is a statesman of world-wide fame, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| With a notable knack at rhetorical bosh | 10 | ··/˘··˘/˘· |
| To glorify somebody's name-- | 8 | ·/˘·/·˘· |
| Somebody chosen by Tuckerton's masters | 11 | /·˘/˘····/˘ |
| To succor the country from divers disasters | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Portentous to Mr. Mahosh. | 8 | ˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Percy O'Halloran Tarpy Cabee | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| Is in the political swim. | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| He cares not a button for men, not he: | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Great principles captivate him-- | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| Principles cleverly cut out and fitted | 11 | /˘˘/˘˘···/˘ |
| To Percy's capacity, duly submitted, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| And fought for by Mr. Cabee. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Drusus Turn Swinnerton Porfer Fitzurse | 10 | ·········· |
| Holds office the most of his life. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For men nor for principles cares he a curse, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| But much for his neighbor's wife. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The Ship of State leaks, but he doesn't pump any, | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| Messrs. Mahosh, Cabee & Company | 9 | /˘····/˘˘ |
| Pump for good Mr. Fitzurse. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.