# An Example explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A short poem about two deaf mutes who resolve to marry despite all warnings, advocating for maintaining silence and ignorance before and after marriage.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Communication

The poem explores love between two deaf mutes, emphasizing a non-verbal bond and the ironic advice to remain 'deaf and dumb and blind' even after marriage.

### Deception and Self-Deception

The advice to ignore warnings and maintain willful ignorance in marriage suggests a form of self-deception as a strategy for harmony.

## Key lines

> Be deaf and dumb until wedded—and then Be deaf and dumb and blind.

Remain silent and unhearing before marriage, and after marriage add blindness to that silence.

_The final lines encapsulate the poem's ironic counsel to maintain ignorance in all stages of marriage._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/an-example
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters