# Posterity's Award explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The narrator, having died and returned to earth, observes a grand statue erected to honor the nineteenth century's foremost man. The statue is faceless and blank, awaiting the name to be chosen by posterity in the year 3000. When the time comes, the name revealed is Deacon Fitch.

## Themes in this chapter

### Art and Criticism

The faceless statue critiques the impersonal and often absurd nature of artistic commemoration.

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The selection of Deacon Fitch as the greatest man implies a corrupt or ironic judgment by posterity.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The deceased narrator returns to earth to observe posterity's judgment.

### Deacon Fitch

Revealed as the name inscribed on the statue, the nineteenth century's great foremost man.

### Arthur McEwen

Referenced as 'Posterity' in the chapter title and context.

## Key lines

> All blank and blind its faulty head it reared.

The statue's head was featureless and sightless, rising imperfectly.

_Highlights the statue's lack of a face, symbolizing the emptiness of fame._

> Then on the pedestal these words I read: “Erected Eighteen Hundred Ninety-seven”

The narrator reads the pedestal inscription dating the statue's erection to 1897.

_Establishes the temporal setting and the statue's origin._

> Whose was it? Gentle reader, pray excuse The seeming rudeness, but I can’t consent to Be so forehanded with important news. ’Twas neither yours nor mine—let that content you. If not, the name I must surrender, which, Upon a dead man’s word, was Deacon Fitch!

The narrator teases the reader before finally revealing that the statue honors Deacon Fitch.

_Climactic revelation that subverts expectations, emphasizing the satirical tone._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/posterity-s-award
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters