A Study in Gray
I step from the door with a shiver(This fog is uncommonly cold)And ask myself: What did I give her?--The maiden a trifle gone-old,With the head of gray hair that was gold.
Ah, well, I suppose 'twas a dollar,And doubtless the change is correct,Though it's odd that it seems so much smallerThan what I'd a right to expect.But you pay when you dine, I reflect.
So I walk up the street--'twas a saunterA score of years back, when I strolledFrom this door; and our talk was all banterThose days when her hair was of gold,And the sea-fog less searching and cold.
I button my coat (for I'm shaken,And fevered a trifle, and flushedWith the wine that I ought to have taken,)Time was, at this coat I'd have blushed,Though truly, 'tis cleverly brushed.
A score? Why, that isn't so veryMuch time to have lost from a life.There's reason enough to be merry:I've not fallen down in the strife,But marched with the drum and the fife.
If Hope, when she lured me and beckoned,Had pushed at my shoulders instead,And Fame, on whose favors I reckoned,Had laureled the worthiest head,I could garland the years that are dead.
Believe me, I've held my own, mostlyThrough all of this wild masquerade;But somehow the fog is more ghostlyTo-night, and the skies are more grayed,Like the locks of the restaurant maid.
If ever I'd fainted and falteredI'd fancy this did but appear;But the climate, I'm certain, has altered--Grown colder and more austereThan it was in that earlier year.
The lights, too, are strangely unsteady,That lead from the street to the quay.I think they'll go out--and I'm readyTo follow. Out there in the seaThe fog-bell is calling to me.
Words in this poem
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- cleverly adv.
- In a clever manner.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- laureled a.
- Crowned with laurel, or with a laurel wreath; laureate.
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- ghostly a.
- Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- quay n.
- A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels. [F. quai. See Key quay.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Study in Gray 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 Study in Gray, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/a-study-in-gray.html, id L28114.
Form and metre
A Study in Gray is 45 lines in 9 stanzas of 5 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABB. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 ABABB shiverA · coldB · herA · oldB · goldB
- 2 ABABB dollarA · correctB · smallerA · expectB · reflectB
- 3 ABABB saunterA · strolledB · banterA · goldB · coldB
- 4 ABABB shakenA · flushedB · takenA · blushedB · brushedB
- 5 ABABB veryA · lifeB · merryA · strifeB · fifeB
- 6 ABABB beckonedA · insteadB · reckonedA · headB · deadB
- 7 ABABB mostlyA · masqueradeB · ghostlyA · grayedB · maidB
- 8 ABABB falteredA · appearB · alteredA · austereB · yearB
- 9 ABABB unsteadyA · quayB · readyA · seaB · meB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I step from the door with a shiver | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| (This fog is uncommonly cold) | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| And ask myself: What did I give her?-- | 9 | ···/····· |
| The maiden a trifle gone-old, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| With the head of gray hair that was gold. | 9 | ········· |
| Ah, well, I suppose 'twas a dollar, | 9 | ···˘/··/˘ |
| And doubtless the change is correct, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Though it's odd that it seems so much smaller | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Than what I'd a right to expect. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But you pay when you dine, I reflect. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| So I walk up the street--'twas a saunter | 10 | ········/˘ |
| A score of years back, when I strolled | 8 | ········ |
| From this door; and our talk was all banter | 10 | ····/···/˘ |
| Those days when her hair was of gold, | 8 | ········ |
| And the sea-fog less searching and cold. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| I button my coat (for I'm shaken, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And fevered a trifle, and flushed | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| With the wine that I ought to have taken,) | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Time was, at this coat I'd have blushed, | 8 | ········ |
| Though truly, 'tis cleverly brushed. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| A score? Why, that isn't so very | 9 | ····˘˘·/˘ |
| Much time to have lost from a life. | 8 | ········ |
| There's reason enough to be merry: | 9 | ·/˘˘/··/˘ |
| I've not fallen down in the strife, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| But marched with the drum and the fife. | 8 | ········ |
| If Hope, when she lured me and beckoned, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Had pushed at my shoulders instead, | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| And Fame, on whose favors I reckoned, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Had laureled the worthiest head, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| I could garland the years that are dead. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Believe me, I've held my own, mostly | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| Through all of this wild masquerade; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But somehow the fog is more ghostly | 9 | ·/·····/˘ |
| To-night, and the skies are more grayed, | 8 | ········ |
| Like the locks of the restaurant maid. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| If ever I'd fainted and faltered | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| I'd fancy this did but appear; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| But the climate, I'm certain, has altered-- | 10 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Grown colder and more austere | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| Than it was in that earlier year. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The lights, too, are strangely unsteady, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| That lead from the street to the quay. | 8 | ········ |
| I think they'll go out--and I'm ready | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| To follow. Out there in the sea | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The fog-bell is calling to me. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
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