# Arthur McEwen — Poetry character guide

> Arthur McEwen in Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Art, Posterity, Arthur

**First appearance:** 0000-poetry

## Snapshot

A named figure in Bierce's verse whose presence sharpens the poet's running quarrel with critics, patrons, and the literary marketplace.

## Who they are

McEwen moves through Bierce's satirical poems as a foil and companion, invoked amid complaints about broken contracts, self-important critics, and the vanity of the writing trade. His appearances give the speaker an audience — someone to address when the Muses are summoned and the critics mocked. He matters because he grounds the book's abstract grievances in a social world of editors, rivals, and friends.

## In the story

### [Arthur McEwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/arthur-mcewen)

The subject of the epitaph, whose legacy is debated by posterity.

### [Fame](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/fame)

Referred to as 'Posterity' in the crowd, he points at the narrator and says 'Let's put him in!'

### [Contentment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/contentment)

Referenced as 'Posterity,' the voice that interrogates the spirit.

### [Black Beetles in Amber](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/black-beetles-in-amber)

Referenced as 'Posterity' in the context of artistic judgment.

### [Posterity's Award](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/posterity-s-award)

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

### [Expositor Veritatis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/expositor-veritatis)

A man cries out about Truth's temple and its founder, then adds he is the chief expounder.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/characters/arthur_mcewen
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/characters