The Cop and the Anthem
by O. Henry

The Cop and the Anthem: Style 1 key example

Style
Explanation and Analysis:

O. Henry’s writing style in “The Cop and the Anthem” is descriptive and lyrical, full of figurative language and unique turns of phrase. Take the following passage, for example, as Soapy ventures out to find a restaurant from which he can steal a meal:  

Soapy left his bench and strolled out of the square and across the level sea of asphalt, where Broadway and Fifth Avenue flow together. Up Broadway he turned, and halted at a glittering café, where are gathered together nightly the choicest products of the grape, the silkworm and the protoplasm.