Homo Podunkensis
As the poor ass that from his paddock straysMight sound abroad his field-companions' praise,Recounting volubly their well-bred leer,Their port impressive and their wealth of ear,Mistaking for the world's assent the clangOf echoes mocking his accurst harangue;So the dull clown, untraveled though at large,Visits the city on the ocean's marge,Expands his eyes and marvels to remarkEach coastwise schooner and each alien bark;Prates of "all nations," wonders as he staresThat native merchants sell imported wares,Nor comprehends how in his very viewA foreign vessel has a foreign crew;Yet, faithful to the hamlet of his birth,Swears it superior to aught on earth,Sighs for the temples locally renowned--The village school-house and the village pound--And chalks upon the palaces of RomeThe peasant sentiments of "Home, Sweet Home!"
Words in this poem
- paddock n.
- A small inclosure or park for sporting. [Corrupted fr. parrock. See Parrock.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- mistaking n.
- An error; a mistake.
- clang v. t.
- To strike together so as to produce a ringing metallic sound. [L. clangere; akin to Gr. clank.]
- accurst p. p.
- Doomed to destruction or misery; cursed; hence, bad enough to be under the curse; execrable; detestable; exceedingly hateful; -- as, an accursed deed.
- untraveled a.
- Not traveled; not trodden by passengers; as, an untraveled forest. [Written also untravelled.]
- marge n.
- Border; margin; edge; verge. [F. marge. See Margin.]
- coastwise adv.
- By way of, or along, the coast.
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Homo Podunkensis 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, Homo Podunkensis, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/homo-podunkensis.html, id L28209.
Form and metre
Homo Podunkensis 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 88%).
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 straysA · praiseA · leerB · earB · clangC · harangueC · largeD · margeD · remarkE · barkE · staresF · waresF · viewG · crewG · birthH · earthH · renownedI · poundI · romeJ · homeJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As the poor ass that from his paddock strays | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Might sound abroad his field-companions' praise, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Recounting volubly their well-bred leer, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Their port impressive and their wealth of ear, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Mistaking for the world's assent the clang | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/·· |
| Of echoes mocking his accurst harangue; | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| So the dull clown, untraveled though at large, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Visits the city on the ocean's marge, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Expands his eyes and marvels to remark | 10 | ˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| Each coastwise schooner and each alien bark; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Prates of "all nations," wonders as he stares | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| That native merchants sell imported wares, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Nor comprehends how in his very view | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| A foreign vessel has a foreign crew; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Yet, faithful to the hamlet of his birth, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Swears it superior to aught on earth, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Sighs for the temples locally renowned-- | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| The village school-house and the village pound-- | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And chalks upon the palaces of Rome | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| The peasant sentiments of "Home, Sweet Home!" | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
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.