Analysis of Genesis [God said, 'Let there be Crime,' and the command]
Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)
God said, 'Let there be Crime,' and the command
Brought Satan, leading Stoneman by the hand.
'Why, that's Stupidity, not Crime,' said God
'Bring what I ordered.' Satan with a nod
Replied, 'This is _one_ element-when I
The _other_-Opportunity-supply
In just equivalent, the two'll affine
And in a chemical embrace combine
And Crime result-for Crime can only be
Stupiditate of Opportunity.'
So leaving Stoneman (not as yet endowed
With soul) in special session on a cloud,
Nick to his sooty laboratory went,
Returning soon with t'other element.
'Here's Opportunity,' he said, and put
Pen, ink, and paper down at Stoneman's foot.
He seized them-Heaven was filled with fires and thunders,
And Crime was added to Creation's wonders!
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGHIIJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110001 1101010101 1101001111 1111010101 0111110011 01010001 0101000101 0001000110 0101111101 110100 1101011101 1101010101 111101001 01011110100 101001101 110101111 1111011110010 011101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 718 |
Words | 124 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 18 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 567 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 117 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 84 Views
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"Genesis [God said, 'Let there be Crime,' and the command]" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1795/genesis-%5Bgod-said%2C-%27let-there-be-crime%2C%27-and-the-command%5D>.
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