For a Certain Critic
Let lowly themes engage my humble pen--Stupidities of critics, not of men.Be it mine once more the maunderings to traceOf the expounders' self-directed race--Their wire-drawn fancies, finically fine,Of diligent vacuity the sign.Let them in jargon of their trade rehearseThe moral meaning of the random verseThat runs spontaneous from the poet's penTo be half-blotted by ambitious menWho hope with his their meaner names to linkBy writing o'er it in another inkThe thoughts unreal which they think they think,Until the mental eye in vain inspectsThe hateful palimpsest to find the text.
The lark ascending heavenward, loud and longSings to the dawning day his wanton song.The moaning dove, attentive to the sound,Its hidden meaning hastens to expound:Explains its principles, design--in brief,Pronounces it a parable of grief!
The bee, just pausing ere he daubs his thighWith pollen from a hollyhock near by,Declares he never heard in terms so justThe labor problem thoughtfully discussed!The browsing ass looks up and clears his whistleTo say: "A monologue upon the thistle!"Meanwhile the lark, descending, folds his wingAnd innocently asks: "What!--did I sing?"
O literary parasites! who thriveUpon the fame of better men, deriveYour sustenance by suction, like a leech,And, for you preach of them, think masters preach,--Who find it half is profit, half delight,To write about what you could never write,--Consider, pray, how sharp had been the throesOf famine and discomfiture in thoseYou write of if they had been critics, too,And doomed to write of nothing but of you!
Lo! where the gaping crowd throngs yonder tent,To see the lion resolutely bent!The prosing showman who the beast displaysGrows rich and richer daily in its praise.But how if, to attract the curious yeoman,The lion owned the show and showed the showman?
Words in this poem 18
- vacuity n.
- The quality or state of being vacuous, or not filled; emptiness; vacancy; as, vacuity of mind; vacuity of countenance. [L. vacuitas. See Vacuous.]
- hateful a.
- Manifesting hate or hatred; malignant; malevolent.
- palimpsest n.
- A parchment which has been written upon twice, the first writing having been erased to make place for the second. [L. palimpsestus, Gr. palimpseste.]
- expound v. t.
- To lay open; to expose to view; to examine. [OE. exponen, expounen, expounden, fr. L. exponere to set out, expose, expound; ex out + ponere to put: cf. OE. expondre, expondre. See Position.]
- pollen n.
- Fine bran or flour. Bailey.
- hollyhock n.
- A species of Althæa (A. rosea), bearing flowers of various colors; -- called also rose mallow. [OE. holihoc; holi holy + hoc mallow, AS. hoc; cf. W. hocys mallows, hocys bendigaid hollyhock, lit., blessed mallow. Prob. so named because brought from the Hol]
- browsing n.
- Browse; also, a place abounding with shrubs where animals may browse.
- monologue n.
- A speech uttered by a person alone; soliloquy; also, talk or discourse in company, in the strain of a soliloquy; as, an account in monologue. [F. monologue, Gr. Legend.]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- innocently adv.
- In an innocent manner.
- derive v. t.
- To turn the course of, as water; to divert and distribute into subordinate channels; to diffuse; to communicate; to transmit; -- followed by to, into, on, upon. [F. dériver, L. derivare; de- + rivus stream, brook. See Rival.]
- famine n.
- General scarcity of food; dearth; a want of provisions; destitution. [F. famine, fr. L. fames hunger; cf. Gr. hani loss, lack, ha to leave.]
- discomfiture n.
- The act of discomfiting, or the state of being discomfited; rout; overthrow; defeat; frustration; confusion and dejection. [OF. desconfiture, F. déconfiture. See Discomfort, v. t., and cf. Comfiture.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- resolutely adv.
- In a resolute manner; with fixed purpose; boldly; firmly; steadily; with perseverance.
- prosing n.
- Writing prose; speaking or writing in a tedious or prosy manner.
- showman n.
- One who exhibits a show; a proprietor of a show.
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
For a Certain Critic 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, For a Certain Critic, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/for-a-certain-critic.html, id L27998.
Form and metre
For a Certain Critic is 45 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 93% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBCCDDAAEEE-- penA · menA · traceB · raceB · fineC · signC · rehearseD · verseD · penA · menA · linkE · inkE · thinkE · inspects · text
- 2 AABBCC longA · songA · soundB · expoundB · briefC · griefC
- 3 AABBCCDD thighA · byA · justB · discussedB · whistleC · thistleC · wingD · singD
- 4 AABBCCDDEE thriveA · deriveA · leechB · preachB · delightC · writeC · throesD · thoseD · tooE · youE
- 5 AABBCC tentA · bentA · displaysB · praiseB · yeomanC · showmanC
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Let lowly themes engage my humble pen-- | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Stupidities of critics, not of men. | 10 | ˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Be it mine once more the maunderings to trace | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Of the expounders' self-directed race-- | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Their wire-drawn fancies, finically fine, | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| Of diligent vacuity the sign. | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/˘˘·· |
| Let them in jargon of their trade rehearse | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The moral meaning of the random verse | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| That runs spontaneous from the poet's pen | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| To be half-blotted by ambitious men | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Who hope with his their meaner names to link | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| By writing o'er it in another ink | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| The thoughts unreal which they think they think, | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| Until the mental eye in vain inspects | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The hateful palimpsest to find the text. | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| The lark ascending heavenward, loud and long | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘˘··· |
| Sings to the dawning day his wanton song. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The moaning dove, attentive to the sound, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Its hidden meaning hastens to expound: | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Explains its principles, design--in brief, | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘˘/·· |
| Pronounces it a parable of grief! | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘˘·· |
| The bee, just pausing ere he daubs his thigh | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With pollen from a hollyhock near by, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Declares he never heard in terms so just | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| The labor problem thoughtfully discussed! | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| The browsing ass looks up and clears his whistle | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| To say: "A monologue upon the thistle!" | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Meanwhile the lark, descending, folds his wing | 10 | /···˘/˘··· |
| And innocently asks: "What!--did I sing?" | 10 | ·/˘˘˘····· |
| O literary parasites! who thrive | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Upon the fame of better men, derive | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Your sustenance by suction, like a leech, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| And, for you preach of them, think masters preach,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Who find it half is profit, half delight, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| To write about what you could never write,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Consider, pray, how sharp had been the throes | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Of famine and discomfiture in those | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| You write of if they had been critics, too, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And doomed to write of nothing but of you! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Lo! where the gaping crowd throngs yonder tent, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To see the lion resolutely bent! | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘· |
| The prosing showman who the beast displays | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Grows rich and richer daily in its praise. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| But how if, to attract the curious yeoman, | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| The lion owned the show and showed the showman? | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
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.