The Saint and the Monk
Saint Peter at the gate of Heaven displayedThe tools and terrors of his awful trade;The key, the frown as pitiless as night,That slays intending trespassers at sight,And, at his side in easy reach, the curledInterrogation points all ready to be hurled.
Straight up the shining cloudway (it so chancedNo others were about) a soul advanced--A fat, orbicular and jolly soulWith laughter-lines upon each rosy jowl--A monk so prepossessing that the saintAdmired him, breathless, until weak and faint,Forgot his frown and all his questions too,Forgoing even the customary "Who?"--Threw wide the gate and, with a friendly grin,Said, "'Tis a very humble home, but pray walk in."
The soul smiled pleasantly. "Excuse me, please--Who's in there?" By insensible degreesThe impudence dispelled the saint's esteem,As growing snores annihilate a dream.The frown began to blacken on his brow,His hand to reach for "Whence?" and "Why?" and "How?""O, no offense, I hope," the soul explained;"I'm rather--well, particular. I've strainedA point in coming here at all; 'tis saidThat Susan Anthony (I hear she's deadAt last) and all her followers are here.As company, they'd be--confess it--rather queer."
The saint replied, his rising anger past:"What can I do?--the law is hard-and-fast,Albeit unwritten and on earth unknown--An oral order issued from the Throne.By but one sin has Woman e'er incurredGod's wrath. To accuse Them Loud of that would be absurd."
That friar sighed, but, calling up a smile,Said, slowly turning on his heel the while:"Farewell, my friend. Put up the chain and bar--I'm going, so please you, where the pretty women are."
Words in this poem
- prepossessing a.
- Tending to invite favor; attracting confidence, favor, esteem, or love; attractive; as, a prepossessing manner.
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
- breathless a.
- Spent with labor or violent action; out of breath.
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- pleasantly adv.
- In a pleasant manner.
- annihilate v. t.
- To reduce to nothing or nonexistence; to destroy the existence of; to cause to cease to be. [L. annihilare; ad + nihilum, nihil, nothing, ne hilum (filum) not a thread, nothing at all. Cf. File, a row.]
- albeit conj.
- Even though; although; notwithstanding. [OE. al be although it be, where al is our all. Cf. Although.]
- unwritten a.
- Not written; not reduced to writing; oral; as, unwritten agreements.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Saint and the Monk 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 Saint and the Monk, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/the-saint-and-the-monk.html, id L28140.
Form and metre
The Saint and the Monk is 38 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 89% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 AABBCC displayedA · tradeA · nightB · sightB · curledC · hurledC
- 2 ----AABBCC chanced · advanced · soul · jowl · saintA · faintA · tooB · whoB · grinC · inC
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFF pleaseA · degreesA · esteemB · dreamB · browC · howC · explainedD · strainedD · saidE · deadE · hereF · queerF
- 4 AABBCC pastA · fastA · unknownB · throneB · incurredC · absurdC
- 5 AABB smileA · whileA · barB · areB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Saint Peter at the gate of Heaven displayed | 10 | ·/˘····/˘/ |
| The tools and terrors of his awful trade; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The key, the frown as pitiless as night, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| That slays intending trespassers at sight, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| And, at his side in easy reach, the curled | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Interrogation points all ready to be hurled. | 12 | ˘·˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Straight up the shining cloudway (it so chanced | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| No others were about) a soul advanced-- | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| A fat, orbicular and jolly soul | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| With laughter-lines upon each rosy jowl-- | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| A monk so prepossessing that the saint | 10 | ·········· |
| Admired him, breathless, until weak and faint, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Forgot his frown and all his questions too, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Forgoing even the customary "Who?"-- | 10 | ˘/˘/·/˘·˘· |
| Threw wide the gate and, with a friendly grin, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Said, "'Tis a very humble home, but pray walk in." | 12 | ···/˘/˘····· |
| The soul smiled pleasantly. "Excuse me, please-- | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| Who's in there?" By insensible degrees | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘/ |
| The impudence dispelled the saint's esteem, | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/··˘/ |
| As growing snores annihilate a dream. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| The frown began to blacken on his brow, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| His hand to reach for "Whence?" and "Why?" and "How?" | 10 | ·········· |
| "O, no offense, I hope," the soul explained; | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| "I'm rather--well, particular. I've strained | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| A point in coming here at all; 'tis said | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That Susan Anthony (I hear she's dead | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| At last) and all her followers are here. | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| As company, they'd be--confess it--rather queer." | 11 | ·/˘··˘/·/˘· |
| The saint replied, his rising anger past: | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| "What can I do?--the law is hard-and-fast, | 10 | ·········· |
| Albeit unwritten and on earth unknown-- | 11 | ˘/˘˘/˘···˘/ |
| An oral order issued from the Throne. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| By but one sin has Woman e'er incurred | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| God's wrath. To accuse Them Loud of that would be absurd." | 13 | ···˘/······˘/ |
| That friar sighed, but, calling up a smile, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Said, slowly turning on his heel the while: | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| "Farewell, my friend. Put up the chain and bar-- | 10 | ·/········ |
| I'm going, so please you, where the pretty women are." | 12 | ·/·····/˘/˘· |
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.