The Unpardonable Sin
I reckon that ye never knew,That dandy slugger, Tom Carew,He had a touch as light an' freeAs that of any honey-bee;But where it lit there wasn't muchTo jestify another touch.O, what a Sunday-school it wasTo watch him puttin' up his pawsAn' roominate upon their heft--Particular his holy left!Tom was my style--that's all I say;Some others may be equal gay.What's come of him? Dunno, I'm sure--He's dead--which make his fate obscure.I only started in to clearOne vital p'int in his career,Which is to say--afore he diedHe soiled his erming mighty snide.Ye see he took to politicsAnd learnt them statesmen-fellers' tricks;Pulled wires, wore stovepipe hats, used scent,Just like he was the President;Went to the Legislator; spokeRight out agin the British yoke--But that was right. He let his hairGrow long to qualify for Mayor,An' once or twice he poked his snootIn Congress like a low galoot!It had to come--no gent can hopeTo wrastle God agin the rope.Tom went from bad to wuss. Being dead,I s'pose it oughtn't to be said,For sech inikities as flowFrom politics ain't fit to know;But, if you think it's actin' whiteTo tell it--Thomas throwed a fight!
Words in this poem
- slugger n.
- One who strikes heavy blows; hence, a boxer; a prize fighter.
- heft n.
- The act or effort of heaving [From Heave: cf. hefe weight. Cf. Haft.]
- career n.
- A race course: the ground run over. [F. carrière race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.]
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
- snide a.
- Tricky; deceptive; contemptible; as, a snide lawyer; snide goods.
- stovepipe n.
- Pipe made of sheet iron in length and angular or curved pieces fitting together, -- used to connect a portable stove with a chimney flue. Stovepipe hat, the common tall silk hat.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- congress n.
- A meeting of individuals, whether friendly or hostile; an encounter. [L. congressus, fr. congredi, p.p. -gressus, to go or come together; con- + grati to go or step, gradus step: cf. F. congr. See Grade.]
- galoot n.
- A noisy, swaggering, or worthless fellow; a rowdy. [Slang, U.
- gent a.
- Gentle; noble; of gentle birth. [OF. gent, fr. L. genitus born, or (less prob.) fr. gentilis. See Genteel.]
- wrastle v. i.
- To wrestle. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U.S.] [OE. wrastlen. See Wrestle.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Unpardonable Sin 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 Unpardonable Sin, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/the-unpardonable-sin.html, id L28079.
Form and metre
The Unpardonable Sin is 36 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 --AABB--CCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ--KKLLMMNNOO knew · carew · freeA · beeA · muchB · touchB · was · paws · heftC · leftC · sayD · gayD · sureE · obscureE · clearF · careerF · diedG · snideG · politicsH · tricksH · scentI · presidentI · spokeJ · yokeJ · hair · mayor · snootK · galootK · hopeL · ropeL · deadM · saidM · flowN · knowN · whiteO · fightO
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I reckon that ye never knew, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That dandy slugger, Tom Carew, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·/˘ |
| He had a touch as light an' free | 8 | ········ |
| As that of any honey-bee; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But where it lit there wasn't much | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To jestify another touch. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| O, what a Sunday-school it was | 8 | ···/···· |
| To watch him puttin' up his paws | 8 | ········ |
| An' roominate upon their heft-- | 8 | ········ |
| Particular his holy left! | 8 | ˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Tom was my style--that's all I say; | 8 | ········ |
| Some others may be equal gay. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| What's come of him? Dunno, I'm sure-- | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| He's dead--which make his fate obscure. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I only started in to clear | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| One vital p'int in his career, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Which is to say--afore he died | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| He soiled his erming mighty snide. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ye see he took to politics | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And learnt them statesmen-fellers' tricks; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Pulled wires, wore stovepipe hats, used scent, | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Just like he was the President; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Went to the Legislator; spoke | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| Right out agin the British yoke-- | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| But that was right. He let his hair | 8 | ········ |
| Grow long to qualify for Mayor, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| An' once or twice he poked his snoot | 8 | ········ |
| In Congress like a low galoot! | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| It had to come--no gent can hope | 8 | ········ |
| To wrastle God agin the rope. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Tom went from bad to wuss. Being dead, | 8 | ······/· |
| I s'pose it oughtn't to be said, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For sech inikities as flow | 7 | ······· |
| From politics ain't fit to know; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But, if you think it's actin' white | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To tell it--Thomas throwed a fight! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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