The Yearly Lie
A merry Christmas? Prudent, as I live!--You wish me something that you need not give.
Merry or sad, what does it signify?To you 't is equal if I laugh, or die.
Your hollow greeting, like a parrot's jest,Finds all its meaning in the ear addressed.
Why "merry" Christmas? Faith, I'd rather frownThan grin and caper like a tickled clown.
When fools are merry the judicious weep;The wise are happy only when asleep.
A present? Pray you give it to disarmA man more powerful to do you harm.
'T was not your motive? Well, I cannot letYou pay for favors that you'll never get.
Perish the savage custom of the gift,Founded in terror and maintained in thrift!
What men of honor need to aid their wealThey purchase, or, occasion serving, steal.
Go celebrate the day with turkeys, pies,Sermons and psalms, and, for the children, lies.
Let Santa Claus descend again the flue;If Baby doubt it, swear that it is true.
"A lie well stuck to is as good as truth,"And God's too old to legislate for youth.
Hail Christmas! On my knees and fowl I fall:For greater grace and better gravy call.Vive l'Humbug!--that's to say, God bless us all!
Words in this poem
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- judicious a.
- Of or relating to a court; judicial. [F. judicieux, fr. L. judicium judgment. See Judicial.]
- disarm v. t.
- To deprive of arms; to take away the weapons of; to deprive of the means of attack or defense; to render defenseless. [OE. desarmen, F. désarmer; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + armer to arm. See Arm.]
- legislate v. i.
- To make or enact a law or laws. [See Legislator.]
- vive a.
- Lively; animated; forcible. [L. vivus: cf. F. vif. See Vivid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Yearly Lie 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 Yearly Lie, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/the-yearly-lie.html, id L28188.
Form and metre
The Yearly Lie is 27 lines in 13 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 96% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 AA liveA · giveA
- 2 AA signifyA · dieA
- 3 AA jestA · addressedA
- 4 AA frownA · clownA
- 5 AA weepA · asleepA
- 6 AA disarmA · harmA
- 7 AA letA · getA
- 8 AA giftA · thriftA
- 9 AA wealA · stealA
- 10 AA piesA · liesA
- 11 AA flueA · trueA
- 12 AA truthA · youthA
- 13 AAA fallA · callA · allA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A merry Christmas? Prudent, as I live!-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| You wish me something that you need not give. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Merry or sad, what does it signify? | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| To you 't is equal if I laugh, or die. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Your hollow greeting, like a parrot's jest, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Finds all its meaning in the ear addressed. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Why "merry" Christmas? Faith, I'd rather frown | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Than grin and caper like a tickled clown. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| When fools are merry the judicious weep; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| The wise are happy only when asleep. | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| A present? Pray you give it to disarm | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| A man more powerful to do you harm. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| 'T was not your motive? Well, I cannot let | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| You pay for favors that you'll never get. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Perish the savage custom of the gift, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Founded in terror and maintained in thrift! | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/·· |
| What men of honor need to aid their weal | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| They purchase, or, occasion serving, steal. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Go celebrate the day with turkeys, pies, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Sermons and psalms, and, for the children, lies. | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Let Santa Claus descend again the flue; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/·· |
| If Baby doubt it, swear that it is true. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| "A lie well stuck to is as good as truth," | 10 | ·········· |
| And God's too old to legislate for youth. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Hail Christmas! On my knees and fowl I fall: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For greater grace and better gravy call. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Vive l'Humbug!--that's to say, God bless us all! | 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.