# A Pickbrain explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The narrator reflects on the futility of imitation, contrasting his own effortless folly with the forced mimicry of another, whom he deems a fool and an ape.

## Themes in this chapter

### Art and Criticism

The poem critiques imitation in art and the distinction between genuine and affected expression.

### Deception and Self-Deception

The imitator's attempt to copy the narrator's style is portrayed as a form of self-deception, masking a lack of originality.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who contrasts his own natural folly with the imitator's forced style.

## Key lines

> What! imitate me, friend? Suppose that you With agony and difficulty do What I do easily⁠—what then? You’ve got A style I heartily wish I had not.

You try to copy me, but you struggle to do what comes naturally to me, and the result is a style I would rather not have.

_The narrator dismisses the imitator's effort as both laborious and undesirable._

> If I from lack of sense and you from choice Grieve the judicious and the unwise rejoice, No equal censure our deserts will suit⁠— We both are fools, but you’re an ape to boot!

Though we both displease the wise and please the foolish, we are not equally blameworthy: we are both fools, but you are also a mere imitator.

_The narrator distinguishes his own natural foolishness from the imitator's deliberate and derivative folly._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/a-pickbrain
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters