Woman in Politics
What, madam, run for School Director? You?And want my vote and influence? Well, well,That beats me! Gad! where are we drifting to?In all my life I never have heard tellOf such sublime presumption, and I smellA nigger in the fence! Excuse me, madam;We statesmen sometimes speak like the old Adam.
But now you mention it--well, well, who knows?We might, that's certain, give the sex a show.I have a cousin--teacher. I supposeIf I stand in and you 're elected--no?You'll make no bargains? That's a pretty go!But understand that school administrationBelongs to Politics, not Education.
We'll pass the teacher deal; but it were wiseTo understand each other at the start.You know my business--books and school supplies;You'd hardly, if elected, have the heartSome small advantage to deny me--partOf all my profits to be yours. What? Stealing?Please don't express yourself with so much feeling.
You pain me, truly. Now one question more.Suppose a fair young man should ask a placeAs teacher--would you (pardon) shut the doorOf the Department in his handsome faceUntil--I know not how to put the case--Would you extort a kiss to pay your favor?Good Lord! you laugh? I thought the matter graver.
Well, well, we can't do business, I suspect:A woman has no head for useful tricks.My profitable offers you rejectAnd will not promise anything to fixThe opposition. That's not politics.Good morning. Stay--I'm chaffing you, conceitedly.Madam, I mean to vote for you--repeatedly.
Words in this poem
- nigger n.
- A negro; -- in vulgar derision or depreciation.
- department n.
- Act of departing; departure. [F. département, fr. départir. See Depart, v. i.]
- graver n.
- One who graves; an engraver or a sculptor; one whose occupation is te cut letters or figures in stone or other hard material.
- chaffing n.
- The use of light, frivolous language by way of fun or ridicule; raillery; banter.
- conceitedly adv.
- In an egotistical manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Woman in Politics 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, Woman in Politics, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/woman-in-politics.html, id L28156.
Form and metre
Woman in Politics is 35 lines in 5 stanzas of 7 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABBCC, the Rhyme royal. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in rhyme royal, 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 ABABBCC youA · wellB · toA · tellB · smellB · madamC · adamC
- 2 ABABBCC knowsA · showB · supposeA · noB · goB · administrationC · educationC
- 3 ABABBCC wiseA · startB · suppliesA · heartB · partB · stealingC · feelingC
- 4 ABABBCC moreA · placeB · doorA · faceB · caseB · favorC · graverC
- 5 ABABBCC suspectA · tricksB · rejectA · fixB · politicsB · conceitedlyC · repeatedlyC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What, madam, run for School Director? You? | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| And want my vote and influence? Well, well, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| That beats me! Gad! where are we drifting to? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In all my life I never have heard tell | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of such sublime presumption, and I smell | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| A nigger in the fence! Excuse me, madam; | 11 | ·/˘···˘/·/˘ |
| We statesmen sometimes speak like the old Adam. | 11 | ·/˘/·····/˘ |
| But now you mention it--well, well, who knows? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| We might, that's certain, give the sex a show. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I have a cousin--teacher. I suppose | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| If I stand in and you 're elected--no? | 11 | ·······˘/˘· |
| You'll make no bargains? That's a pretty go! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But understand that school administration | 11 | ··˘/··˘·˘/˘ |
| Belongs to Politics, not Education. | 11 | ˘/·/˘···˘/˘ |
| We'll pass the teacher deal; but it were wise | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To understand each other at the start. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| You know my business--books and school supplies; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| You'd hardly, if elected, have the heart | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Some small advantage to deny me--part | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Of all my profits to be yours. What? Stealing? | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Please don't express yourself with so much feeling. | 11 | ··˘/˘/···/˘ |
| You pain me, truly. Now one question more. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Suppose a fair young man should ask a place | 10 | ˘/········ |
| As teacher--would you (pardon) shut the door | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Of the Department in his handsome face | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Until--I know not how to put the case-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Would you extort a kiss to pay your favor? | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| Good Lord! you laugh? I thought the matter graver. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Well, well, we can't do business, I suspect: | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| A woman has no head for useful tricks. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| My profitable offers you reject | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/˘·˘/ |
| And will not promise anything to fix | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The opposition. That's not politics. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Good morning. Stay--I'm chaffing you, conceitedly. | 12 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Madam, I mean to vote for you--repeatedly. | 11 | /˘······˘/˘ |
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.