Yorick
Hard by an excavated street one satIn solitary session on the sand;And ever and anon he spake and spatAnd spake again--a yellow skull in hand,To which that retrospective PioneerAddressed the few remarks that follow here:
"Who are you? Did you come 'der blains agross,'Or 'Horn aroundt'? In days o' '49Did them thar eye-holes see the Southern CrossFrom the Antarctic Sea git up an' shine?Or did you drive a bull team 'all the wayFrom Pike,' with Mr. Joseph Bowers?--say!
"Was you in Frisco when the water cameUp to Montgum'ry street? and do you mindThe time when Peters run the faro game--Jim Peters from old Mississip--behindWells Fargo's, where he subsequent was bustBy Sandy, as regards both bank and crust?
"I wonder was you here when Casey shotJames King o' William? And did you attendThe neck-tie dance ensuin'? I did not,But j'ined the rush to Go Creek with my friendEd'ard McGowan; for we was resolvedIn sech diversions not to be involved.
"Maybe I knowed you; seems to me I've seedYour face afore. I don't forget a face,But names I disremember--I'm that breedOf owls. I'm talking some'at into spaceAn' maybe my remarks is too derned free,Seein' yer name is unbeknown to me.
"Ther' was a time, I reckon, when I knowedNigh onto every dern galoot in town.That was as late as '50. Now she's growedSurprisin'! Yes, me an' my pardner, Brown,Was wide acquainted. If ther' was a cussWe didn't know, the cause was--he knowed us.
"Maybe you had that claim adjoinin' mineUp thar in Calaveras. Was it youTo which Long Mary took a mighty shine,An' throwed squar' off on Jake the Kangaroo?I guess if she could see ye now she'd takeHer chance o' happiness along o' Jake.
"You ain't so purty now as you was then:Yer eyes is nothin' but two prospect holes,An' women which are hitched to better menWould hardly for sech glances damn their souls,As Lengthie did. By G----! I hope it's you,For" (kicks the skull) "I'm Jake the Kangaroo."
Words in this poem
- session n.
- The act of sitting, or the state of being seated. [L. sessio, fr. sedere, sessum, to sit: cf. F. session. See Sit.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- spat n.
- A young oyster or other bivalve mollusk, both before and after it first becomes adherent, or such young, collectively. [From the root of spit; hence, literally, that which is ejected.]
- pioneer n.
- A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances. [F. pionier, orig., a foot soldier, OF. peonier, fr. OF. peon a foot soldier, F. pion. See Pawn in chess.]
- thar v.
- It needs; need. Piers Plowman. [OE. thar, Þarf, AS. Þearf, infin. Þurfan to need; akin to OHG. durfan, G. dürfen to be allowed, Icel. Þurfa to need, Goth. Þaúrban.]
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
- unbeknown a.
- Not known; unknown.
- onto prep.
- On the top of; upon; on. See On to, under On, prep. [On + to. Cf. Into.]
- dern a.
- Hidden; concealed; secret. [See Dearn, a.]
- galoot n.
- A noisy, swaggering, or worthless fellow; a rowdy. [Slang, U.
- damn v. t.
- To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censhure. [OE. damnen dap), OF. damner, dampner, F. damner, fr. L. damnare, damnatum, to condemn, fr. damnum damage, a fine, penalty. Cf. Condemn, Damage.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Yorick 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, Yorick, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/yorick.html, id L27978.
Form and metre
Yorick is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See 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 ABABCC satA · sandB · spatA · handB · pioneerC · hereC
- 2 ABABCC agrossA · — · crossA · shineB · wayC · sayC
- 3 ABABCC cameA · mindB · gameA · behindB · bustC · crustC
- 4 ABABCC shotA · attendB · notA · friendB · resolvedC · involvedC
- 5 ABABCC seedA · faceB · breedA · spaceB · freeC · meC
- 6 ABABCC knowedA · townB · growedA · brownB · cussC · usC
- 7 ABABCC mineA · youB · shineA · kangarooB · takeC · jakeC
- 8 ABABCC thenA · holesB · menA · soulsB · youC · kangarooC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hard by an excavated street one sat | 10 | ···/˘·˘··· |
| In solitary session on the sand; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| And ever and anon he spake and spat | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| And spake again--a yellow skull in hand, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| To which that retrospective Pioneer | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Addressed the few remarks that follow here: | 10 | ˘/··˘/·/˘· |
| "Who are you? Did you come 'der blains agross,' | 10 | ·········· |
| Or 'Horn aroundt'? In days o' '49 | 7 | ······· |
| Did them thar eye-holes see the Southern Cross | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| From the Antarctic Sea git up an' shine? | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Or did you drive a bull team 'all the way | 10 | ·········· |
| From Pike,' with Mr. Joseph Bowers?--say! | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| "Was you in Frisco when the water came | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Up to Montgum'ry street? and do you mind | 10 | ·········· |
| The time when Peters run the faro game-- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Jim Peters from old Mississip--behind | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Wells Fargo's, where he subsequent was bust | 10 | ·/···/˘˘·· |
| By Sandy, as regards both bank and crust? | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| "I wonder was you here when Casey shot | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| James King o' William? And did you attend | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The neck-tie dance ensuin'? I did not, | 9 | ········· |
| But j'ined the rush to Go Creek with my friend | 10 | ·········· |
| Ed'ard McGowan; for we was resolved | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| In sech diversions not to be involved. | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| "Maybe I knowed you; seems to me I've seed | 10 | /˘········ |
| Your face afore. I don't forget a face, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| But names I disremember--I'm that breed | 10 | ·········· |
| Of owls. I'm talking some'at into space | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| An' maybe my remarks is too derned free, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Seein' yer name is unbeknown to me. | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| "Ther' was a time, I reckon, when I knowed | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Nigh onto every dern galoot in town. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| That was as late as '50. Now she's growed | 9 | ········˘ |
| Surprisin'! Yes, me an' my pardner, Brown, | 10 | ·········· |
| Was wide acquainted. If ther' was a cuss | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| We didn't know, the cause was--he knowed us. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| "Maybe you had that claim adjoinin' mine | 10 | /˘········ |
| Up thar in Calaveras. Was it you | 10 | ···˘˘/˘··· |
| To which Long Mary took a mighty shine, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| An' throwed squar' off on Jake the Kangaroo? | 10 | ········˘/ |
| I guess if she could see ye now she'd take | 10 | ·········· |
| Her chance o' happiness along o' Jake. | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| "You ain't so purty now as you was then: | 10 | ·········· |
| Yer eyes is nothin' but two prospect holes, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| An' women which are hitched to better men | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Would hardly for sech glances damn their souls, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| As Lengthie did. By G----! I hope it's you, | 10 | ·········· |
| For" (kicks the skull) "I'm Jake the Kangaroo." | 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.