History
What wrecked the Roman power? One says vice,Another indolence, another dice.Emascle says polygamy. "Not so,"Says Impycu--"'twas luxury and show."The parson, lifting up a brow of brass,Swears superstition gave the coup de grâce,Great Allison, the statesman-chap affirms'Twas lack of coins (croaks Medico: "'T was worms")And John P. Jones the swift suggestion collars,Averring the no coins were silver dollars.Thus, through the ages, each presuming quackTurns the poor corpse upon its rotten back,Holds a new "autopsy" and finds that deathResulted partly from the want of breath,But chiefly from some visitation sadThat points his argument or serves his fad.They're all in error--never human mindThe cause of the disaster has divined.What slew the Roman power? Well, providedYou'll keep the secret, I will tell you. I did.
Words in this poem
- indolence n.
- Freedom from that which pains, or harasses, as toil, care, grief, etc. [L. indolentia freedom from pain: cf. F. indolence.]
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
- visitation n.
- The act of visiting, or the state of being visited; access for inspection or examination. [L. visitatio: cf. F. visitation.]
- disaster n.
- An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body; hence, an ill portent. [F. désastre; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See Aster, Astral, Star.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
History 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, History, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/history.html, id L28185.
Form and metre
History is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ viceA · diceA · soB · showB · brassC · grâceC · affirmsD · wormsD · collarsE · dollarsE · quackF · backF · deathG · breathG · sadH · fadH · mindI · divinedI · providedJ · didJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What wrecked the Roman power? One says vice, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Another indolence, another dice. | 10 | ˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Emascle says polygamy. "Not so," | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Says Impycu--"'twas luxury and show." | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| The parson, lifting up a brow of brass, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Swears superstition gave the coup de grâce, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Great Allison, the statesman-chap affirms | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘·˘/ |
| 'Twas lack of coins (croaks Medico: "'T was worms") | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| And John P. Jones the swift suggestion collars, | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| Averring the no coins were silver dollars. | 11 | /˘˘····/˘/˘ |
| Thus, through the ages, each presuming quack | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Turns the poor corpse upon its rotten back, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Holds a new "autopsy" and finds that death | 10 | ···/·˘···· |
| Resulted partly from the want of breath, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| But chiefly from some visitation sad | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| That points his argument or serves his fad. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| They're all in error--never human mind | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| The cause of the disaster has divined. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| What slew the Roman power? Well, provided | 11 | ···/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| You'll keep the secret, I will tell you. I did. | 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.