The Retrospective Bird
Understood! Please provide the question or prompt related to THE RETROSPECTIVE BIRD by Ambrose Bierce, and I will provide a concise and assertive response without any additional words or phrases.
By Ambrose Bierce · First published 1897 · Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Supernatural · 173 words
First lines
His caw is a cackle, his eye is dim, And he mopes all day on the lowest limb; Not a word says he, but he snaps his bill And twitches his palsied head, as a quill, The ultimate plume of his pride and hope, Quits his now featherless nose-of-the-Pope, Leaving that eminence brown and bare Exposed to the Prince of the Power of the Air.
And he sits and he thinks: "I'm an old, old man, Mateless and chickless, the last of my clan, But I'd give the half of the days gone by To perch once more on the branches high, And hear my great-grand-daddy's comical croaks In authorized versions of "Bulletin" jokes."
What this Textopian page supports
The Retrospective Bird is listed on Textopian as a short story by Ambrose Bierce, dated 1897 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Ambrose Bierce
- Date: 1897 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Supernatural, Historical Fiction, Short Stories
- Length: 173 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Retrospective Bird by Ambrose Bierce
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Retrospective Bird?
- How does this short story by Ambrose Bierce fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Fantasy first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- A Commuted Sentence by Ambrose Bierce
- One Of The Saints by Ambrose Bierce
- A Vine On A House by Ambrose Bierce
- A Rear Elevation by Ambrose Bierce
- To The Bartholdi Statue by Ambrose Bierce
- The Psoriad by Ambrose Bierce
Genres
- Fantasy — The title and known works of the author suggest speculative themes and elements of unrealism.
- Mystery — The retrospective bird in title could be a metaphor for looking back, hinting at a possible mystery needing to be unraveled.
- Supernatural — Ambrose Bierce's writing often contains eerie, ghostly elements.
- Historical Fiction — The author's potential use of retrospection may suggest a narrative set in the past.
Tags
gothic fiction · supernatural horror · mystery · thriller · psychological horror · literary fiction · symbolism · surrealism · magical realism · speculative fiction · fantasy · horror