A Demand
You promised to paint me a picture,Dear Mat,And I was to pay you in rhyme.Although I am loth to inflict yourMost easy of consciences, I'mOf opinion that fibbing is awful,And breaking a contract unlawful,Indictable, too, as a crime,A slight and all that.
If, Lady Unbountiful, anyOf thatBy mortals called pity has partIn your obdurate soul--if a pennyYou care for the health of my heart,By performing your undertakingYou'll succor that organ from breaking--And spare it for some new smart,As puss does a rat.
Do you think it is very becoming,Dear Mat,To deny me my rights evermoreAnd--bless you! if I begin summingYour sins they will make a long score!You never were generous, madam,If you had been Eve and I AdamYou'd have given me naught but the core,And little of that.
Had I been content with a Titian,A catBy Landseer, a meadow by Claude,No doubt I'd have had your permissionTo take it--by purchase abroad.But why should I sail o'er the oceanFor Landseers and Claudes? I've a notionAll's bad that the critics belaud.I wanted a Mat.
Presumption's a sin, and I sufferFor that:But still you did say that sometime,If I'd pay you enough (here's enougher--That's more than enough) of rhymeYou'd paint me a picture. I pay youHereby in advance; and I pray youCondone, while you can, your crime,And send me a Mat.
But if you don't do it I warn you,Dear Mat,I'll raise such a clamor and cryOn Parnassus the Muses will scorn youAs mocker of poets and flyWith bitter complaints to Apollo:"Her spirit is proud, her heart hollow,Her beauty"--they'll hardly deny,On second thought, that!
Words in this poem
- indictable a.
- Capable of being, or liable to be, indicted; subject to indictment; as, an indictable offender or offense.
- puss n.
- A cat; -- a fondling appellation. [Cf. D. poes, Ir. & Gael. pus.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- belaud v. t.
- To laud or praise greatly.
- sometime adv.
- At a past time indefinitely referred to; once; formerly.
- hereby adv.
- By means of this.
- condone v. t.
- To pardon; to forgive. [L. condonare, -donatum, to give up, remit, forgive; con- + donare to give. See Donate.]
- parnassus n.
- A mountain in Greece, sacred to Apollo and the Muses, and famous for a temple of Apollo and for the Castalian spring. Grass of Parnassus. (Bot.) See under Grass, and Parnassia.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Demand 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 Demand, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/a-demand.html, id L27992.
Form and metre
A Demand is 54 lines in 6 stanzas of 9 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABCACDDCB, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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 -AB-BCCBA picture · matA · rhymeB · your · i'mB · awfulC · unlawfulC · crimeB · thatA
- 2 ABCACDDCB anyA · thatB · partC · pennyA · heartC · undertakingD · breakingD · smartC · ratB
- 3 ABCACDDCB becomingA · matB · evermoreC · summingA · scoreC · madamD · adamD · coreC · thatB
- 4 ABCACDDCB titianA · catB · claudeC · permissionA · abroadC · oceanD · notionD · belaudC · matB
- 5 ABCACDDCB sufferA · thatB · sometimeC · enougherA · rhymeC · youD · youD · crimeC · matB
- 6 ABCACDDCB youA · matB · cryC · youA · flyC · apolloD · hollowD · denyC · thatB
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| You promised to paint me a picture, | 10 | ·/˘˘····/˘ |
| Dear Mat, | 2 | ·· |
| And I was to pay you in rhyme. | 8 | ········ |
| Although I am loth to inflict your | 9 | ······˘/· |
| Most easy of consciences, I'm | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| Of opinion that fibbing is awful, | 10 | ·˘/˘····/˘ |
| And breaking a contract unlawful, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Indictable, too, as a crime, | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| A slight and all that. | 5 | ····· |
| If, Lady Unbountiful, any | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Of that | 2 | ·· |
| By mortals called pity has part | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘·· |
| In your obdurate soul--if a penny | 10 | ··/˘˘···/˘ |
| You care for the health of my heart, | 8 | ········ |
| By performing your undertaking | 9 | ·˘/˘·/˘·˘ |
| You'll succor that organ from breaking-- | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| And spare it for some new smart, | 7 | ······· |
| As puss does a rat. | 5 | ····· |
| Do you think it is very becoming, | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| Dear Mat, | 2 | ·· |
| To deny me my rights evermore | 9 | ·˘/···/˘· |
| And--bless you! if I begin summing | 9 | ·····˘//˘ |
| Your sins they will make a long score! | 8 | ········ |
| You never were generous, madam, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| If you had been Eve and I Adam | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| You'd have given me naught but the core, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And little of that. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Had I been content with a Titian, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| A cat | 2 | ·· |
| By Landseer, a meadow by Claude, | 8 | ····/··· |
| No doubt I'd have had your permission | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| To take it--by purchase abroad. | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| But why should I sail o'er the ocean | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| For Landseers and Claudes? I've a notion | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| All's bad that the critics belaud. | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| I wanted a Mat. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Presumption's a sin, and I suffer | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| For that: | 2 | ·· |
| But still you did say that sometime, | 8 | ······/· |
| If I'd pay you enough (here's enougher-- | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| That's more than enough) of rhyme | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| You'd paint me a picture. I pay you | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Hereby in advance; and I pray you | 9 | ˘/·˘/···· |
| Condone, while you can, your crime, | 7 | ˘/····· |
| And send me a Mat. | 5 | ····· |
| But if you don't do it I warn you, | 9 | ········· |
| Dear Mat, | 2 | ·· |
| I'll raise such a clamor and cry | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| On Parnassus the Muses will scorn you | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| As mocker of poets and fly | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| With bitter complaints to Apollo: | 9 | ·/˘˘/·˘/˘ |
| "Her spirit is proud, her heart hollow, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Her beauty"--they'll hardly deny, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| On second thought, that! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
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