# Barnes — Poetry character guide

> Barnes in Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** W. H. L. Barnes Happy

**First appearance:** 0000-poetry

## Snapshot

A named figure in Bierce's satiric cast, sketched with the poet's characteristic blend of proper-name precision and mocking familiarity.

## Who they are

Barnes belongs to the crowded gallery of real and half-real persons Bierce summons to his verse, each tagged with a name sharp enough to sting. He appears less as a developed character than as a target — one of the many whose pretensions the poet's couplets exist to deflate. He matters because he embodies the collection's method: naming names, and letting rhyme do the rest.

## In the story

### [To W. H. L. B.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/to-w-h-l-b)

Addressed as the dull orator whose speech is criticized.

### [The Unfallen Brave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/the-unfallen-brave)

Mentioned as one whose 'chin' is revived by Memorial Day, implying a self-serving or boastful presence.

### [A Retort](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/a-retort)

Target of the retort, accused of projecting his own vices and bearing the mark of the Ralston collar.

### [Memorial Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/memorial-day)

Mentioned among the hereditary candidates whose speeches have ended.

### [Four of a Kind](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/four-of-a-kind)

Portrayed as happy because he receives sin's wage on the installment plan in age, but haunted by his cruel mirror.

### [W. H. L. Barnes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/w-h-l-barnes)

The subject of the poem, portrayed as a man whose sins are punished only in old age, immune to physical violence but wounded by his own image.

### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/xxviii)

The deceased orator, master of oratory, whose epitaph is the subject of the chapter.

## Links

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