Something in the Papers
"What's in the paper?" Oh, it's dev'lish dull:There's nothing happening at all--a lullAfter the war-storm. Mr. Someone's wifeKilled by her lover with, I think, a knife.A fire on Blank Street and some babies--one,Two, three or four, I don't remember, doneTo quite a delicate and lovely brown.A husband shot by woman of the town--The same old story. Shipwreck somewhere south.The crew, all saved--or lost. Uncommon drouthMakes hundreds homeless up the River Mud--Though, come to think, I guess it was a flood.'T is feared some bank will burst--or else it won'tThey always burst, I fancy--or they don't;Who cares a cent?--the banker pays his coinAnd takes his chances: bullet in the groin--But that's another item--suicide--Fool lost his money (serve him right) and died.Heigh-ho! there's noth--Jerusalem! what's this:Tom Jones has failed! My God, what an abyssOf ruin!--owes me seven hundred clear!Was ever such a damned disastrous year!
Words in this poem
- lull v. t.
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- homeless a.
- Destitute of a home. [AS.hamleas.]
- damned a.
- Sentenced to punishment in a future state; condemned; consigned to perdition.
- disastrous a.
- Full of unpropitious stellar influences; unpropitious; ill-boding. [Cf. F. désastreux. See Disaster.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Something in the Papers 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, Something in the Papers, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/something-in-the-papers.html, id L28195.
Form and metre
Something in the Papers is 22 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 93%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK dullA · lullA · wifeB · knifeB · oneC · doneC · brownD · townD · southE · drouthE · mudF · floodF · won'tG · don'tG · coinH · groinH · suicideI · diedI · thisJ · abyssJ · clearK · yearK
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's in the paper?" Oh, it's dev'lish dull: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| There's nothing happening at all--a lull | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| After the war-storm. Mr. Someone's wife | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Killed by her lover with, I think, a knife. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| A fire on Blank Street and some babies--one, | 10 | ·/·····/˘· |
| Two, three or four, I don't remember, done | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| To quite a delicate and lovely brown. | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| A husband shot by woman of the town-- | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| The same old story. Shipwreck somewhere south. | 10 | ···/˘/˘/·· |
| The crew, all saved--or lost. Uncommon drouth | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Makes hundreds homeless up the River Mud-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Though, come to think, I guess it was a flood. | 10 | ·········· |
| 'T is feared some bank will burst--or else it won't | 11 | ··········· |
| They always burst, I fancy--or they don't; | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| Who cares a cent?--the banker pays his coin | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And takes his chances: bullet in the groin-- | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| But that's another item--suicide-- | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Fool lost his money (serve him right) and died. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Heigh-ho! there's noth--Jerusalem! what's this: | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Tom Jones has failed! My God, what an abyss | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Of ruin!--owes me seven hundred clear! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Was ever such a damned disastrous year! | 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.