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

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. more…

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