# CCXLIX explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

After God completes the creation of the world and all things named and unnamed, the remaining Nothing asks to be made into something grand to amuse the angels. God obliges by creating the human brain.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature and Artifice

The chapter contrasts the natural creation of the world with the artificial creation of the human brain as a constructed amusement for angels.

## Key lines

> When God had finished this terrestrial frame And all things else, with or without a name, The Nothing that remained within His hand Said: 'Make me into something fine and grand, Thine angels to amuse and entertain.' God heard and made it into human brain.

After God completed the earth and everything in it, the leftover Nothing asked to be transformed into a magnificent creation to delight the angels, and God turned it into the human brain.

_The poem personifies Nothing as a sentient entity requesting purpose, leading to the creation of the human mind._

## Links

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