# Needleson — Poetry character guide

> Needleson in Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0000-poetry

## Snapshot

A minor but distinctly named figure in Bierce's satiric verse, whose very name suggests the prick of the poet's needle.

## Who they are

Needleson is one of the small, sharply drawn figures Bierce deploys to populate his satiric world — a name that does half the work before the line is finished. He exists at the margins of the poems, a target rather than a protagonist, but his presence reinforces the collection's habit of pinning its subjects with a single well-chosen syllable. He matters because he shows how Bierce builds a world out of names, each one a small verdict.

## In the story

### [A Bad Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_se/chapters/a-bad-night)

Enters the graveyard exhaling odors of decayed eggs and unlaundried linen, then exits.

## Links

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