Poetry · Character
John Ericsson
The engineer whose name became a byword for the Monitor's iron will, invoked in Bierce's verse as a symbol of stubborn Yankee ingenuity.
supporting
First appearance: poetry
As a supporting figure in Poetry, John Ericsson is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
Epitaph VI mocks the monument built to him, noting it was funded by a percentage of what was robbed from him while alive.
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Ericsson belongs to the poem's gallery of public figures whose reputations Bierce treats as fair game for satire. He stands for the practical inventor-hero, a man whose fame rests on a single ironclad triumph, and whose…
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21 connectionsA slice of how John Ericsson sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.
Relationship types
- Other
Character groups
- Titled and Historical Figures
- Protagonist
- Diverse Allegorical and Named Figures
- Personification and Named Characters
- Legal and Judicial Characters
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- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the speaker’s obsessive pursuit of the divine rose fragrance…
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John Ericsson appears across 2 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.
Chapter companion notes
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See John Ericsson in poetry