On a Proposed Crematory
When a fair bridge is builded o'er the gulfBetween two cities, some ambitious fool,Hot for distinction, pleads for earliest leaveTo push his clumsy feet upon the span,That men in after years may single him,Saying: "Behold the fool who first went o'er!"So be it when, as now the promise is,Next summer sees the edifice completeWhich some do name a crematorium,Within the vantage of whose greater maw'sQuicker digestion we shall cheat the wormAnd circumvent the handed mole who loves,With tunnel, adit, drift and roomy stope,To mine our mortal parts in all their dipsAnd spurs and angles. Let the fool stand forthTo link his name with this fair enterprise,As first decarcassed by the flame. And ifWith rival greedings for the fiery fameThey push in clamoring multitudes, or ifWith unaccustomed modesty they allHold off, being something loth to qualify,Let me select the fittest for the rite.By heaven! I'll make so warrantable, wiseAnd excellent censure of their true deserts,And such a searching canvass of their claims,That none shall bait the ballot. I'll spread my choiceUpon the main and general of thoseWho, moved of holy impulse, pulpit-born,Protested 'twere a sacrilege to burnGod's gracious images, designed to rot,And bellowed for the right of way for eachDistempered carrion through the water pipes.With such a sturdy, boisterous exclaimThey did discharge themselves from their own throatsAgainst the splintered gates of audience'Twere wholesomer to take them in at mouthThan ear. These shall burn first: their ignibleAnd seasoned substances--trunks, legs and arms,Blent indistinguishable in a mass,Like winter-woven serpents in a pit--None vantaged of his fellow-fools in pointOf precedence, and all alive--shall serveAs fueling to fervor the retortFor after cineration of true men.
Words in this poem
- clumsy a.
- Stiff or benumbed, as with cold. [OE. clumsed benumbed, fr. clumsen to be benumbed; cf. Icel. klumsa lockjaw, dial. Sw. klummsen benumbed with cold. Cf. 1st Clam, and 1st Clamp.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- crematorium n.
- A furnace for cremating corpses; a building containing such a furnace. [NL. crematorium, fr. L. cremator.]
- vantage v. t.
- To profit; to aid.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- circumvent v. t.
- To gain advantage over by arts, stratagem, or deception; to decieve; to delude; to get around. [L. circumventis, p. p. of circumvenire, to come around, encompass, decieve; circum + venire to come, akin to E. come.]
- adit n.
- An entrance or passage. Specifically: The nearly horizontal opening by which a mine is entered, or by which water and ores are carried away; -- called also drift and tunnel. [L. aditus, fr. adire, , to go to; ad + ire to go.]
- stope p. p.
- Stepped; gone; advanced.
- warrantable a.
- Authorized by commission, precept, or right; justifiable; defensible; as, the seizure of a thief is always warrantable by law and justice; falsehood is never warrantable.
- boisterous a.
- Rough or rude; unbending; unyielding; strong; powerful. [OE. boistous; of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwyst wild, savage, wildness, ferocity, bwystus ferocious.]
- blent p. p.
- Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
- fervor n.
- Heat; excessive warmth. [OF. fervor, fervour, F. ferveur, L. fervor, fr. fervere. See Fervent.]
- cineration n.
- The reducing of anything to ashes by combustion; cinefaction. [L. cinis ashes: cf. F. cinération.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On a Proposed Crematory 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, On a Proposed Crematory, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/on-a-proposed-crematory.html, id L27991.
Form and metre
On a Proposed Crematory is 44 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See 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 ----A---A-A--------------------------------- gulf · fool · leave · span · himA · o'er · is · complete · crematoriumA · maw's · wormA · loves · stope · dips · forth · enterprise · if · fame · if · all · qualify · rite · wise · deserts · claims · choice · those · born · burn · rot · each · pipes · exclaim · throats · audience · mouth · ignible · arms · mass · pit · point · serve · retort · men
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When a fair bridge is builded o'er the gulf | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Between two cities, some ambitious fool, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Hot for distinction, pleads for earliest leave | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| To push his clumsy feet upon the span, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That men in after years may single him, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Saying: "Behold the fool who first went o'er!" | 10 | /˘˘/······ |
| So be it when, as now the promise is, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Next summer sees the edifice complete | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Which some do name a crematorium, | 10 | ·····˘˘/˘˘ |
| Within the vantage of whose greater maw's | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Quicker digestion we shall cheat the worm | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| And circumvent the handed mole who loves, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| With tunnel, adit, drift and roomy stope, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| To mine our mortal parts in all their dips | 10 | ··//˘····· |
| And spurs and angles. Let the fool stand forth | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To link his name with this fair enterprise, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| As first decarcassed by the flame. And if | 10 | ·········· |
| With rival greedings for the fiery fame | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| They push in clamoring multitudes, or if | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| With unaccustomed modesty they all | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Hold off, being something loth to qualify, | 10 | ··//˘··/˘· |
| Let me select the fittest for the rite. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| By heaven! I'll make so warrantable, wise | 10 | ·/···/˘˘˘· |
| And excellent censure of their true deserts, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘···˘/ |
| And such a searching canvass of their claims, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| That none shall bait the ballot. I'll spread my choice | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Upon the main and general of those | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Who, moved of holy impulse, pulpit-born, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Protested 'twere a sacrilege to burn | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘˘·· |
| God's gracious images, designed to rot, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/·· |
| And bellowed for the right of way for each | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Distempered carrion through the water pipes. | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| With such a sturdy, boisterous exclaim | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| They did discharge themselves from their own throats | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Against the splintered gates of audience | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| 'Twere wholesomer to take them in at mouth | 11 | ··········· |
| Than ear. These shall burn first: their ignible | 10 | ·········· |
| And seasoned substances--trunks, legs and arms, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| Blent indistinguishable in a mass, | 10 | ·˘˘/˘˘˘··· |
| Like winter-woven serpents in a pit-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| None vantaged of his fellow-fools in point | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Of precedence, and all alive--shall serve | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/·· |
| As fueling to fervor the retort | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/· |
| For after cineration of true men. | 10 | ·········· |
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