# Fame explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The narrator awakens after a thousand-year sleep beneath the sod, beginning in 1901, and is revived by a god who recalls his sinning. He emerges from his grave to find a crowd gathered around a ruin, and one person suggests putting him inside. The narrator protests, thinking it is a jail, but an aged wight explains that the ruin is the Hall of Fame, where every ten years they add the name of the most unworthy person they know. The narrator realizes the building is the Hall of Fame and that the goat pasture was once New York.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The Hall of Fame is depicted as honoring the 'most unworthy' individuals, satirizing the arbitrary and corrupt nature of fame and public recognition.

### Mortality and Regret

The narrator's resurrection and confrontation with a judgmental crowd highlight themes of death, rebirth, and the lingering consequences of past sins.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator, who has been revived after a thousand-year sleep and is mistaken for a candidate for the Hall of Fame.

### Arthur McEwen

Referred to as 'Posterity' in the crowd, he points at the narrator and says 'Let's put him in!'

## Key lines

> One thousand years I slept beneath the sod, My sleep in 1901 beginning, Then, by the action of some scurvy god Who happened then to recollect my sinning, I was revived and given another inning.

After sleeping for a thousand years starting in 1901, a mischievous god remembered my sins and brought me back to life for another chance.

_The narrator describes his long sleep and unexpected resurrection._

> This building in its time made quite a stir. I lived (was famous, too) when ’twas erected. The names here first inscribed were much respected. This is the Hall of Fame, or I’m a stork, And this goat pasture once was called New York.

This building was once famous, and I was alive and well-known when it was built. The original names carved here were honorable. This is the Hall of Fame, I swear, and this field used to be New York City.

_The narrator recognizes the Hall of Fame and contrasts its past dignity with its current degraded state._

## Links

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