A Poet's Hope
'Twas a weary-looking mortal, and he wandered near the portalOf the melancholy City of the Discontented Dead.He was pale and worn exceeding and his manner was unheeding,As if it could not matter what he did nor what he said.
"Sacred stranger"--I addressed him with a reverence befittingThe austere, unintermitting, dread solemnity he wore;'Tis the custom, too, prevailing in that vicinage when hailingOne who possibly may be a person lately "gone before"--
"Sacred stranger, much I ponder on your evident dejection,But my carefulest reflection leaves the riddle still unread.How do you yourself explain your dismal tendency to wanderBy the melancholy City of the Discontented Dead?"
Then that solemn person, pausing in the march that he was making,Roused himself as if awaking, fixed his dull and stony eyeOn my countenance and, slowly, like a priest devout and holy,Chanted in a mournful monotone the following reply:
"O my brother, do not fear it; I'm no disembodied spirit--I am Lampton, the Slang Poet, with a price upon my head.I am watching by this portal for some late lamented mortalTo arise in his disquietude and leave his earthy bed.
"Then I hope to take possession and pull in the earth above meAnd, renouncing my profession, ne'er be heard of any more.For there's not a soul to love me and no living thing respects me,Which so painfully affects me that I fain would 'go before.'"
Then I felt a deep compassion for the gentleman's dejection,For privation of affection would refrigerate a frog.So I said: "If nothing human, and if neither man nor womanCan appreciate the fashion of your merit--buy a dog."
Words in this poem
- vicinage n.
- The place or places adjoining or near; neighborhood; vicinity; as, a jury must be of the vicinage. [OF. veisinage, F. voisinage, from OF. veisin, F. voisin, neighboring, a neighbor, L. vicunus. See Vicinity.]
- dejection n.
- A casting down; depression. Hallywell. [L. dejectio a casting down: cf. F. déjection.]
- unread a.
- Not read or perused; as, an unread book. Hooker.
- dismal a.
- Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky. [Formerly a noun; e. g., "I trow it was in the dismalle." Chaucer. Of uncertain origin; but perh. (as suggested by Skeat) from OF. disme, F. dîme, tithe, the phr]
- monotone n.
- A single unvaried tone or sound. [See Monotonous, Monotony.]
- lamented a.
- Mourned for; bewailed.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- refrigerate v. t.
- To cause to become cool; to make or keep cold or cool. [L. refrigeratus, p. p. cf. refrigerare; pref. re- re- + grigerare to make cool, fr. fragus, frigoris, coolness. See Frigid.]
- appreciate v. t.
- To set a price or value on; to estimate justly; to value. [L. appretiatus, p. p. of appretiare to value at a price, appraise; ad + pretiare to prize, pretium price. Cf. Appraise.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Poet's Hope 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 Poet's Hope, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/a-poets-hope.html, id L28108.
Form and metre
A Poet's Hope is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in trochaic octameter.
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 -A-A portal · deadA · unheeding · saidA
- 2 -A-A befitting · woreA · hailing · beforeA
- 3 -A-A dejection · unreadA · wander · deadA
- 4 -A-A making · eyeA · holy · replyA
- 5 -A-A spirit · headA · mortal · bedA
- 6 ABAB meA · moreB · meA · beforeB
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 trochaic octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| 'Twas a weary-looking mortal, and he wandered near the portal | 16 | ··/˘/˘/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Of the melancholy City of the Discontented Dead. | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| He was pale and worn exceeding and his manner was unheeding, | 16 | ·····˘/˘··/˘···· |
| As if it could not matter what he did nor what he said. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| "Sacred stranger"--I addressed him with a reverence befitting | 16 | /˘/˘·˘/···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| The austere, unintermitting, dread solemnity he wore; | 15 | ·˘/······˘/˘˘·· |
| 'Tis the custom, too, prevailing in that vicinage when hailing | 16 | ··/˘·˘/˘··/˘˘·/˘ |
| One who possibly may be a person lately "gone before"-- | 15 | ··/˘˘···/˘/˘··· |
| "Sacred stranger, much I ponder on your evident dejection, | 16 | /˘/˘··/˘··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| But my carefulest reflection leaves the riddle still unread. | 15 | ··/˘˘˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| How do you yourself explain your dismal tendency to wander | 16 | ···˘/˘/·/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| By the melancholy City of the Discontented Dead?" | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| Then that solemn person, pausing in the march that he was making, | 16 | ··/˘/˘/˘······/˘ |
| Roused himself as if awaking, fixed his dull and stony eye | 16 | ·˘˘/··˘/˘····/˘· |
| On my countenance and, slowly, like a priest devout and holy, | 16 | ··/˘˘·/˘···˘/·/˘ |
| Chanted in a mournful monotone the following reply: | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| "O my brother, do not fear it; I'm no disembodied spirit-- | 16 | ··/˘······˘˘/˘/˘ |
| I am Lampton, the Slang Poet, with a price upon my head. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| I am watching by this portal for some late lamented mortal | 16 | ··/˘··/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| To arise in his disquietude and leave his earthy bed. | 14 | ·˘/········/˘· |
| "Then I hope to take possession and pull in the earth above me | 16 | ·····˘/˘········ |
| And, renouncing my profession, ne'er be heard of any more. | 15 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘····/˘· |
| For there's not a soul to love me and no living thing respects me, | 16 | ··········/˘·˘/· |
| Which so painfully affects me that I fain would 'go before.'" | 15 | ··/˘˘˘/········ |
| Then I felt a deep compassion for the gentleman's dejection, | 16 | ·····˘/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| For privation of affection would refrigerate a frog. | 15 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| So I said: "If nothing human, and if neither man nor woman | 16 | ····/˘/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Can appreciate the fashion of your merit--buy a dog." | 15 | ·˘/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
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