# Borrowed Brains explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The chapter satirizes the literary community's obsession with Joaquin Miller's cut hair, suggesting that writers believe they can absorb his intellectual power by finding and wearing a strand of it. It mocks the superficial pursuit of genius and the desperate measures taken to achieve literary fame.

## Themes in this chapter

### Art and Criticism

The chapter critiques the literary world's superficial valuation of genius and the absurd lengths writers go to for recognition.

### Deception and Self-Deception

The writers deceive themselves into believing that a strand of hair can confer intellectual power, highlighting self-delusion in the pursuit of fame.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator observes and mocks the writer folk's frantic search for Joaquin Miller's hair.

## Key lines

> He has but to put one strand In his beaver’s inner band And his intellect will soar As it never did before!

Simply placing a strand of Miller's hair in his hatband will make his intelligence skyrocket beyond anything previously achieved.

_Highlights the absurd superstition that physical relics can transfer intellectual prowess._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/borrowed-brains
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters