An Apologue
A traveler observed one dayA loaded fruit-tree by the way.And reining in his horse exclaimed:"The man is greatly to be blamedWho, careless of good morals, leavesTemptation in the way of thieves.Now lest some villain pass this wayAnd by this fruit be led astrayTo bag it, I will kindly packIt snugly in my saddle-sack."He did so; then that Salt o' the EarthRode on, rejoicing in his worth.
Words in this poem
- snugly adv.
- In a snug manner; closely; safely.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Apologue 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, An Apologue, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/an-apologue.html, id L28190.
Form and metre
An Apologue is 12 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABBCCAADDEE dayA · wayA · exclaimedB · blamedB · leavesC · thievesC · wayA · astrayA · packD · sackD · earthE · worthE
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A traveler observed one day | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| A loaded fruit-tree by the way. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And reining in his horse exclaimed: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| "The man is greatly to be blamed | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who, careless of good morals, leaves | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Temptation in the way of thieves. | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Now lest some villain pass this way | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And by this fruit be led astray | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To bag it, I will kindly pack | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It snugly in my saddle-sack." | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| He did so; then that Salt o' the Earth | 9 | ········· |
| Rode on, rejoicing in his worth. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
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.