# Corrected News explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A satirical poem about a newspaper's sensationalized account of a maiden lady's reaction to a man in her room, contrasting the dramatic lie with the more mundane truth that she leapt into the room rather than out of it.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Self-Deception

The poem exposes the newspaper's deliberate lie about the maiden lady's actions, contrasting it with the truth.

### Political Satire

Satirizes the unethical practices of journalists who lie for profit, linking to broader critiques of institutional corruption.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator who corrects the newspaper's false account with the true version of events.

## Key lines

> Alas, that lying is such a sin When newspaper men need bread and gin And none can be had for less than a lie!

It's unfortunate that journalists resort to lying because they need money for basic necessities and can't get them without fabricating stories.

_The narrator laments the economic pressures that drive newspapermen to dishonesty._

> For the maiden lady a bit gone-gray Saw the man in the room from across the way, And leapt, not out of the window but in⁠— Ten fathoms sheer, as I hope to die!

The elderly unmarried woman actually saw the man from a distance and jumped into the room, not out of it, a fall of sixty feet, as the narrator swears is true.

_The corrected version of the story reveals the opposite action from what the newspaper reported._

## Links

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