# Jerusalem, Old and New explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A satirical poem contrasting the idealized New Jerusalem preached by a parson with the gritty, imperfect reality of a familiar village, where sin and vice persist despite moralizing.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The parson preaches against vice while sinners continue their ways, highlighting religious hypocrisy.

### Political Satire

The poem satirizes the clergy and the idealized vision of a New Jerusalem versus earthly reality.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator observes and contrasts the parson's sermons with the villagers' cynical reality.

### Old Nick

Implied as the devil who still pitches the key, underscoring the persistence of sin.

## Key lines

> But sinners still laugh at his talk of the New Jerusalem—ha-ha, te-he!

Sinners mock the parson's promises of a perfect afterlife.

_Illustrates the disconnect between religious teaching and public skepticism._

> They think of the streets of a village they know, Where horses still sink to the knee, Contrasting its muck with the pavement of gold

They compare the muddy, imperfect streets of their own town to the golden streets of the New Jerusalem.

_Highlights the contrast between idealized faith and gritty reality._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/jerusalem-old-and-new
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters