# A Ballad of Pikeville explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A satirical ballad describing the founding of Pikeville in Arizona, where a colony of settlers from Missouri struggles with drought and poor soil. A parson's prayer for water causes an earthquake that brings forth springs, but the settlers celebrate by getting drunk on whisky. The land becomes fertile for rye and corn, and Pikeville becomes a distilling community that consumes all it produces.

## Themes in this chapter

### Political Satire

The ballad satirizes temperance movements, religious hypocrisy, and frontier settlement.

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The parson's prayer for water leads to a drunken celebration, highlighting the gap between piety and behavior.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator recounts the ballad of Pikeville's founding and transformation.

## Key lines

> Scarcely was the prayer concluded ere an earthquake shook the land, And with copious effusion springs burst out on every hand!

No sooner had the parson finished praying than an earthquake caused water to gush forth everywhere.

_The miraculous answer to prayer is immediately followed by a drunken revel._

> A half a standard gallon (says history) per head Of the best Kentucky prime was at that ceremony shed.

According to historical record, each person consumed half a gallon of top-quality Kentucky whisky during the celebration.

_The settlers' religious rite becomes an occasion for heavy drinking._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/a-ballad-of-pikeville
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters