The Passing of "Boss" Shepherd
The sullen church-bell's intermittent moan,The dirge's melancholy monotone,The measured march, the drooping flags, attestA great man's progress to his place of rest.Along broad avenues himself decreedTo serve his fellow men's disputed need--Past parks he raped away from robbers' thriftAnd gave to poverty, wherein to liftIts voice to curse the giver and the gift--Past noble structures that he reared for menTo meet in and revile him, tongue and pen,Draws the long retinue of death to showThe fit credentials of a proper woe.
"Boss" Shepherd, you are dead. Your hand no moreThrows largess to the mobs that ramp and roarFor blood of benefactors who disdainTheir purity of purpose to explain,Their righteous motive and their scorn of gain.Your period of dream--'twas but a breath--Is closed in the indifference of death.Sealed in your silences, to you alikeIf hands are lifted to applaud or strike.No more to your dull, inattentive earPraise of to-day than curse of yesteryear.From the same lips the honied phrases fallThat still are bitter from cascades of gall.We note the shame; you in your depth of darkThe red-writ testimony cannot markOn every honest cheek; your senses allLocked, incommunicado, in your pall,Know not who sit and blush, who stand and bawl.
"Seven Grecian cities claim great Homer dead,Through which the living Homer begged hisbread."So sang, as if the thought had been his own,An unknown bard, improving on a known."Neglected genius!"--that is sad indeed,But malice better would ignore than heed,And Shepherd's soul, we rightly may suspect,Prayed often for the mercy of neglectWhen hardly did he dare to leave his doorWithout a guard behind him and beforeTo save him from the gentlemen that nowIn cheap and easy reparation bowTheir corrigible heads above his corseTo counterfeit a grief that's half remorse.
The pageant passes and the exile sleeps,And well his tongue the solemn secret keepsOf the great peace he found afar, until,Death's writ of extradition to fulfill,They brought him, helpless, from that friendly zoneTo be a show and pastime in his own--A final opportunity to thoseWho fling with equal aim the stone and rose;That at the living till his soul is freed,This at the body to conceal the deed!
Lone on his hill he's lying to awaitWhat added honors may befit his state--The monument, the statue, or the arch(Where knaves may come to weep and dupes to march)Builded by clowns to brutalize the scenesHis genius beautified. To get the means,His newly good traducers all are dunnedFor contributions to the conscience fund.If each subscribe (and pay) one cent 'twill rearA structure taller than their tallest ear.
Words in this poem 21
- sullen a.
- Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
- monotone n.
- A single unvaried tone or sound. [See Monotonous, Monotony.]
- attest v. t.
- To bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine; as, to attest the truth of a writing, a copy of record. [L. attestari; ad + testari to bear witness: cf. F. attester.]
- giver n.
- One who gives; a donor; a bestower; a grantor; one who imparts or distributes.
- largess n.
- Liberality; generosity; bounty. [F. largesse, fr. large. See Large, a.]
- ramp v. i.
- To spring; to leap; to bound; to rear; to prance; to become rampant; hence, to frolic; to romp. [F. ramper to creep, OF., to climb; of German origin; cf. G. raffen to snatch, LG. & D. rapen. See Rap to snatch, and cf. Romp.]
- yesteryear n.
- The year last past; last year.
- bawl v. i.
- To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate. [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; cf. AS bellan, G. bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]
- ignore v. t.
- To be ignorant of or not acquainted with. [L. ignorare; pref. in- not + the root of gnarus knowing, noscere to become acquainted with. See Know, and cf. Narrate.]
- rightly adv.
- Straightly; directly; in front. [AS. richtlice.]
- corse n.
- A living body or its bulk. [OF. cors, F. corps. See Corpse.]
- pageant n.
- A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- extradition n.
- The surrender or delivery of an alleged criminal by one State or sovereignty to another having jurisdiction to try charge. [L. ex out + traditio a delivering up: cf. F. extradition. See Tradition.]
- fulfill v. t.
- To fill up; to make full or complete. [OE. fulfillen, fulfullen, AS. fulfyllan; ful full + fyllan to fill. See Full, a., and Fill, v. t.]
- pastime n.
- That which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably; sport; amusement; diversion. [Pass + time: cf. F. passetemps.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- brutalize v. t.
- To make brutal; beasty; unfeeling; or inhuman. [Cf. F. brutaliser.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- subscribe v. t.
- To write underneath, as one's name; to sign (one's name) to a document. [L. subscribere, subscriptum; sub under + scribere to write: cf. F. souscrire. See Scribe.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Passing of "Boss" Shepherd 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, The Passing of "Boss" Shepherd, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/the-passing-of-boss-shepherd.html, id L28065.
Form and metre
The Passing of "Boss" Shepherd is 66 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 82% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 AABBCCDDDEEFF moanA · monotoneA · attestB · restB · decreedC · needC · thriftD · liftD · giftD · menE · penE · showF · woeF
- 2 AABBBCCDDEEFFGGFFF moreA · roarA · disdainB · explainB · gainB · breathC · deathC · alikeD · strikeD · earE · yesteryearE · fallF · gallF · darkG · markG · allF · pallF · bawlF
- 3 A-ABBCCDDEEFFGG deadA · his · breadA · ownB · knownB · indeedC · heedC · suspectD · neglectD · doorE · beforeE · nowF · bowF · corseG · remorseG
- 4 AABBCCDDEE sleepsA · keepsA · untilB · fulfillB · zoneC · ownC · thoseD · roseD · freedE · deedE
- 5 AABBCCDDEE awaitA · stateA · archB · marchB · scenesC · meansC · dunnedD · fundD · rearE · earE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The sullen church-bell's intermittent moan, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| The dirge's melancholy monotone, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| The measured march, the drooping flags, attest | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| A great man's progress to his place of rest. | 10 | ···/······ |
| Along broad avenues himself decreed | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| To serve his fellow men's disputed need-- | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Past parks he raped away from robbers' thrift | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| And gave to poverty, wherein to lift | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Its voice to curse the giver and the gift-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Past noble structures that he reared for men | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| To meet in and revile him, tongue and pen, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Draws the long retinue of death to show | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The fit credentials of a proper woe. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| "Boss" Shepherd, you are dead. Your hand no more | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Throws largess to the mobs that ramp and roar | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For blood of benefactors who disdain | 10 | ···/˘·˘·˘/ |
| Their purity of purpose to explain, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Their righteous motive and their scorn of gain. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Your period of dream--'twas but a breath-- | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Is closed in the indifference of death. | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Sealed in your silences, to you alike | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| If hands are lifted to applaud or strike. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| No more to your dull, inattentive ear | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Praise of to-day than curse of yesteryear. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| From the same lips the honied phrases fall | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| That still are bitter from cascades of gall. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| We note the shame; you in your depth of dark | 10 | ·········· |
| The red-writ testimony cannot mark | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| On every honest cheek; your senses all | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Locked, incommunicado, in your pall, | 10 | ··˘·˘/˘··· |
| Know not who sit and blush, who stand and bawl. | 10 | ·········· |
| "Seven Grecian cities claim great Homer dead, | 10 | //˘/˘··/˘· |
| Through which the living Homer begged his | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘· |
| bread." | 1 | · |
| So sang, as if the thought had been his own, | 10 | ·········· |
| An unknown bard, improving on a known. | 10 | ·˘/·˘/˘··· |
| "Neglected genius!"--that is sad indeed, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘···˘/ |
| But malice better would ignore than heed, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| And Shepherd's soul, we rightly may suspect, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Prayed often for the mercy of neglect | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| When hardly did he dare to leave his door | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Without a guard behind him and before | 10 | ·········· |
| To save him from the gentlemen that now | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| In cheap and easy reparation bow | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Their corrigible heads above his corse | 10 | ·/˘˘˘····· |
| To counterfeit a grief that's half remorse. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| The pageant passes and the exile sleeps, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/·· |
| And well his tongue the solemn secret keeps | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Of the great peace he found afar, until, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Death's writ of extradition to fulfill, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| They brought him, helpless, from that friendly zone | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To be a show and pastime in his own-- | 10 | ·····/···· |
| A final opportunity to those | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| Who fling with equal aim the stone and rose; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That at the living till his soul is freed, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| This at the body to conceal the deed! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Lone on his hill he's lying to await | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| What added honors may befit his state-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| The monument, the statue, or the arch | 10 | ·/˘˘·/···· |
| (Where knaves may come to weep and dupes to march) | 10 | ·········· |
| Builded by clowns to brutalize the scenes | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| His genius beautified. To get the means, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| His newly good traducers all are dunned | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For contributions to the conscience fund. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| If each subscribe (and pay) one cent 'twill rear | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| A structure taller than their tallest ear. | 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.