Two Rogues
Dim, grim, and silent as a ghost,The sentry occupied his post,To all the stirrings of the nightAlert of ear and sharp of sight.A sudden something--sight or sound,About, above, or underground,He knew not what, nor where--ensued,Thrilling the sleeping solitude.The soldier cried: "Halt! Who goes there?"The answer came: "Death--in the air.""Advance, Death--give the countersign,Or perish if you cross that line!"To change his tone Death thought it wise--Reminded him they 'd been alliesAgainst the Russ, the Frank, the Turk,In many a bloody bit of work."In short," said he, "in every weatherWe've soldiered, you and I, together."The sentry would not let him pass."Go back," he growled, "you tiresome ass--Go back and rest till the next war,Nor kill by methods all abhor:Miasma, famine, filth and vice,With plagues of locusts, plagues of lice,Foul food, foul water, and foul gases,Rank exhalations from morasses.If you employ such low alliesThis business you will vulgarize.Renouncing then the field of fameTo wallow in a waste of shame,I'll prostitute my strength and lurkAbout the country doing work--These hands to labor I'll devote,Nor cut, by Heaven, another throat!"
Words in this poem
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- thrilling a.
- Causing a thrill; causing tremulous excitement; deeply moving; as, a thrilling romance.
- countersign v. t.
- To sign on the opposite side of (an instrument or writing); hence, to sign in addition to the signature of a principal or superior, in order to attest the authenticity of a writing. [Counter- + sign: cf. F. contresigner.]
- russ n.
- A Russian, or the Russians.
- turk n.
- A member of any of numerous Tartar tribes of Central Asia, etc.; esp., one of the dominant race in Turkey. [Per. Turk; probably of Tartar origin: cf. F. Turc.]
- abhor v. i.
- To shrink back with horror, disgust, or dislike; to be contrary or averse; -- with from.
- famine n.
- General scarcity of food; dearth; a want of provisions; destitution. [F. famine, fr. L. fames hunger; cf. Gr. hani loss, lack, ha to leave.]
- vulgarize v. t.
- To make vulgar, or common. [Cf. F. vulgariser, LL. vulgarizare.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Two Rogues 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, Two Rogues, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/two-rogues.html, id L28110.
Form and metre
Two Rogues is 34 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQ ghostA · postA · nightB · sightB · soundC · undergroundC · ensuedD · solitudeD · thereE · airE · countersignF · lineF · wiseG · alliesG · turkH · workH · weatherI · togetherI · passJ · assJ · warK · abhorK · viceL · liceL · gasesM · morassesM · alliesN · vulgarizeN · fameO · shameO · lurkP · workP · devoteQ · throatQ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dim, grim, and silent as a ghost, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The sentry occupied his post, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| To all the stirrings of the night | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Alert of ear and sharp of sight. | 8 | ˘/······ |
| A sudden something--sight or sound, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| About, above, or underground, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He knew not what, nor where--ensued, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Thrilling the sleeping solitude. | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| The soldier cried: "Halt! Who goes there?" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The answer came: "Death--in the air." | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "Advance, Death--give the countersign, | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| Or perish if you cross that line!" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To change his tone Death thought it wise-- | 8 | ········ |
| Reminded him they 'd been allies | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| Against the Russ, the Frank, the Turk, | 8 | ········ |
| In many a bloody bit of work. | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| "In short," said he, "in every weather | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| We've soldiered, you and I, together." | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| The sentry would not let him pass. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "Go back," he growled, "you tiresome ass-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Go back and rest till the next war, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor kill by methods all abhor: | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Miasma, famine, filth and vice, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| With plagues of locusts, plagues of lice, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Foul food, foul water, and foul gases, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Rank exhalations from morasses. | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| If you employ such low allies | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| This business you will vulgarize. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Renouncing then the field of fame | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| To wallow in a waste of shame, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I'll prostitute my strength and lurk | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| About the country doing work-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| These hands to labor I'll devote, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Nor cut, by Heaven, another throat!" | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
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.