# To-Day explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The narrator observes a man praying for selfish, hypocritical favors—asking to be exempt from work, to follow his own will, to hide his sins, and to take from others—then ironically declares him 'an honest man' after the prayer ends.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The praying man's words are a transparent plea for selfish indulgence disguised as piety, exposing the gap between religious performance and true morality.

### Deception and Self-Deception

The man prays for exemption from duty and concealment of his vices, revealing both his attempt to deceive God and his own self-deception about his righteousness.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The observer who hears the prayer and delivers the ironic final judgment.

## Key lines

> To-Day I saw a man who knelt in prayer, And heard him say: 'I'll lay my inmost spirit bare To-day.'

Today I witnessed a man kneeling in prayer, who claimed he would reveal his deepest thoughts.

_Sets up the ironic contrast between the man's professed openness and the selfish content of his prayer._

> Let me my duty duly shirk And run away From any form or phase of work To-day.

Allow me to avoid my responsibilities and escape from all labor today.

_Highlights the man's desire for idleness and evasion of duty, a key element of the satire._

> I cried: 'Amen!' He rose and ran Like oil away. I said: 'I've seen an honest man To-day.'

I shouted 'Amen!' He got up and hurried off smoothly. I remarked that I had encountered an honest person today.

_The narrator's ironic conclusion underscores the hypocrisy of the entire scene._

## Links

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