# Polyphemus explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A sick young man with a single eye, an ex-West Point cadet, laments his injury from a cannon that misfired both forward and backward, ruining his military prospects and leaving him in despair.

## Themes in this chapter

### Mortality and Regret

The cadet's lost future and physical disfigurement reflect themes of regret and the fragility of life.

### Political Satire

The absurdity of a weapon meant for killing turning on its user satirizes the futility and danger of militarism.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator who encounters and consoles the ailing cadet.

## Key lines

> ’Twas at cannon-practice I got my hurt And my present frame of mind; For the gun went off with a double spurt⁠— Before it, and also behind!

I was injured during cannon drill; the gun fired both forward and backward, causing my current despair.

_The cadet explains his injury from a cannon that misfired in both directions._

> ’Twas O for a breach of the peace⁠—’twas O For an international brawl! But a piece of the breech⁠—ah no, ah no, I didn’t want that at all.

I longed for a war or a fight, but not for a piece of the cannon's breech to hit me.

_The cadet's ironic lament: he wanted conflict but not the literal backfire of the weapon._

## Links

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