# The Fountain Refilled explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The poem describes Hans Pietro Shanahan, a man with an extraordinary thirst for blood rather than alcohol. His addiction becomes so severe that he drains the resources of the state and even considers suicide. In a moment of desperation, he devises a scheme to obtain franchises for trolley lines through bribery and corruption, ultimately using the profits to fuel his insatiable thirst.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

Shanahan's use of bribes and 'corrupt combines' to secure trolley franchises exposes the moral decay underlying civic progress.

### Deception and Self-Deception

Shanahan deludes himself into believing his scheme is a 'freedom,' while the press is ironically blessed for opposing him despite its own corruption.

## Character check-ins

### Hans Pietro Shanahan

A most ingenious man with an unnatural thirst for blood, who resorts to corrupt means to satisfy his addiction.

## Key lines

> He’d get so truly drunk that men / Stood by to marvel at him when / His slow advance along the street / Was but a vain cycloidal feat.

He would become so intoxicated that his unsteady walk resembled a looping, erratic path, drawing astonished onlookers.

_Highlights the extreme nature of Shanahan's drunkenness._

> Strong drink (it hath an adder’s bite!) / Was what had put him in the mud, / The only kind he used was blood!

Though alcohol is dangerous, the only intoxicant Shanahan consumed was blood.

_Reveals the shocking and grotesque nature of his addiction._

> Straight to the aldermen went he, / With many a 'pull' and many a fee, / And many a most corrupt 'combine'

He went directly to the city council, using influence and bribes to form corrupt alliances.

_Illustrates the systemic corruption involved in obtaining public contracts._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/the-fountain-refilled
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters