Bimetalism
Ben Bulger was a silver man,Though not a mine had he:He thought it were a noble planTo make the coinage free.
"There hain't for years been sech a time,"Said Ben to his bull pup,"For biz--the country's broke and I'mThe hardest kind of up.
"The paper says that that's becauseThe silver coins is sea'ce,And that the chaps which makes the lawsPuts gold ones in their place.
"They says them nations always beMost prosperatin' whereThe wolume of the currencyAin't so disgustin' rare."
His dog, which hadn't breakfasted,Dissented from his view,And wished that he could swell, instead,The volume of cold stew.
"Nobody'd put me up," said Ben,"With patriot galootsWhich benefits their feller menBy playin' warious roots;
"But havin' all the tools about,I'm goin' to commenceA-turnin' silver dollars outWuth eighty-seven cents.
"The feller takin' 'em can't whine:(No more, likewise, can I):They're better than the genooine,Which mostly satisfy.
"It's only makin' coinage free,And mebby might augmentThe wolume of the currencyA noomerous per cent."
I don't quite see his error norMalevolence prepense,But fifteen years they gave him forThat technical offense.
Words in this poem
- bulger n.
- A driver or a brassy with a convex face.
- coinage n.
- The act or process of converting metal into money. [From Coin, v. t., cf. Cuinage.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- currency n.
- A continued or uninterrupted course or flow like that of a sream; as, the currency of time. Ayliffe. [Cf. LL. currentia a current, fr. L. currens, p. pr. of currere to run. See Current.]
- feller n.
- One who, or that which, fells, knocks or cuts down; a machine for felling trees.
- prepense v. t.
- To weigh or consider beforehand; to premeditate. [Pref. pre + F. penser to think. See Pansy.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Bimetalism 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, Bimetalism, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/bimetalism.html, id L28168.
Form and metre
Bimetalism is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 ABAB manA · heB · planA · freeB
- 2 ABAB timeA · pupB · i'mA · upB
- 3 ABAB becauseA · sea'ceB · lawsA · placeB
- 4 ABAB beA · whereB · currencyA · rareB
- 5 ABAB breakfastedA · viewB · insteadA · stewB
- 6 ABAB benA · galootsB · menA · rootsB
- 7 ABAB aboutA · commenceB · outA · centsB
- 8 ABAB whineA · iB · genooineA · satisfyB
- 9 ABAB freeA · augmentB · currencyA · centB
- 10 ABAB norA · prepenseB · forA · offenseB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Bulger was a silver man, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Though not a mine had he: | 6 | ······ |
| He thought it were a noble plan | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To make the coinage free. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| "There hain't for years been sech a time," | 8 | ········ |
| Said Ben to his bull pup, | 6 | ······ |
| "For biz--the country's broke and I'm | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The hardest kind of up. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "The paper says that that's because | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The silver coins is sea'ce, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And that the chaps which makes the laws | 8 | ········ |
| Puts gold ones in their place. | 6 | ······ |
| "They says them nations always be | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| Most prosperatin' where | 6 | ······ |
| The wolume of the currency | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Ain't so disgustin' rare." | 6 | ······ |
| His dog, which hadn't breakfasted, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Dissented from his view, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| And wished that he could swell, instead, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The volume of cold stew. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Nobody'd put me up," said Ben, | 8 | /······· |
| "With patriot galoots | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Which benefits their feller men | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| By playin' warious roots; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "But havin' all the tools about, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I'm goin' to commence | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| A-turnin' silver dollars out | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Wuth eighty-seven cents. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| "The feller takin' 'em can't whine: | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| (No more, likewise, can I): | 6 | ··/··· |
| They're better than the genooine, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Which mostly satisfy. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| "It's only makin' coinage free, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And mebby might augment | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The wolume of the currency | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| A noomerous per cent." | 6 | ······ |
| I don't quite see his error nor | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Malevolence prepense, | 6 | ˘/˘˘˘/ |
| But fifteen years they gave him for | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| That technical offense. | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
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