A Bit o' Fun
We thought you woulden leaeve us quiteSo soon as what you did last night;Our fun jist got up to a heightAs you about got hwome.The frisken chaps did skip about,An' cou'se the maidens in an' out,A-meaeken such a randy-rout,You coulden hear a drum.
An' Tom, a-springen after BetBlind-vwolded, whizz'd along, an' hetPoor Grammer's zide, an' overzetHer chair, at blind-man's buff;An' she, poor soul, as she did vall,Did show her snags o' teeth an' squall,An' what, she zaid, wer wo'se than all,She shatter'd all her snuff.
An' Bet, a-hoppen back vor fearO' Tom, struck uncle zomewhere near,An' meaede his han' spill all his beerRight down her poll an' back;An' Joe, in middle o' the din,Slipt out a bit, an' soon come inWi' all below his dapper chinA-jumpen in a zack.
An' in a twinklen tother chapsJist hung en to a crook wi' straps,An' meaede en bear the maidens' slaps,An' prickens wi' a pin.An' Jim, a-catchen Poll, poor chap,In back-house in the dark, vell slapAthirt a tub o' barm,--a trapShe set to catch en in.
An' then we zot down out o' breath,An' meaede a circle roun' the he'th,A-keepen up our harmless me'th,Till supper wer a-come.An' after we'd a-had zome prog,All tother chaps begun to jog,Wi' sticks to lick a thief or dog,To zee the maidens hwome.
Words in this poem
- spill n.
- A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
- dapper a.
- Little and active; spruce; trim; smart; neat in dress or appearance; lively. [OE. daper; prob. fr. D. dapper brave, valiant; akin to G. tapfer brave, OHG. taphar heavy, weighty, OSlav. dobrû good, Russ. dobrui. Cf. Deft.]
- vell n.
- The salted stomach of a calf, used in making cheese; a rennet bag. [Cf. L. vellus the skin of a sheep with the wool on it, a fleece, a hide or pelt, or E. fell a hide.]
- barm n.
- The lap or bosom. [OE. bearm, berm, barm, AS. beorma; akin to E. bear to support.]
- prog v. i.
- To wander about and beg; to seek food or other supplies by low arts; to seek for advantage by mean shift or tricks. [Low] [Cf. D. prachen, G. prachern, Dan. prakke, Sw. pracka, to beg, L. procare, procari, to ask, demand, and E. prowl.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Bit o' Fun is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect, Project Gutenberg ebook #21785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Barnes, A Bit o' Fun, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/a-bit-o-fun.html, id L02096.
Form and metre
A Bit o' Fun is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AAA-BBB- quiteA · nightA · heightA · hwome · aboutB · outB · routB · drum
- 2 AAAB-CCB betA · hetA · overzetA · buffB · vall · squallC · allC · snuffB
- 3 AAABCCCB fearA · nearA · beerA · backB · dinC · inC · chinC · zackB
- 4 AAABCCCB chapsA · strapsA · slapsA · pinB · chapC · slapC · trapC · inB
- 5 AAA-BB-- breathA · he'thA · me'thA · come · progB · jogB · dog · hwome
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| We thought you woulden leaeve us quite | 8 | ········ |
| So soon as what you did last night; | 8 | ········ |
| Our fun jist got up to a height | 8 | /······· |
| As you about got hwome. | 6 | ······ |
| The frisken chaps did skip about, | 8 | ········ |
| An' cou'se the maidens in an' out, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-meaeken such a randy-rout, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| You coulden hear a drum. | 6 | ······ |
| An' Tom, a-springen after Bet | 8 | ········ |
| Blind-vwolded, whizz'd along, an' het | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Poor Grammer's zide, an' overzet | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her chair, at blind-man's buff; | 6 | ······ |
| An' she, poor soul, as she did vall, | 8 | ········ |
| Did show her snags o' teeth an' squall, | 8 | ········ |
| An' what, she zaid, wer wo'se than all, | 8 | ········ |
| She shatter'd all her snuff. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' Bet, a-hoppen back vor fear | 8 | ········ |
| O' Tom, struck uncle zomewhere near, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| An' meaede his han' spill all his beer | 8 | ········ |
| Right down her poll an' back; | 6 | ······ |
| An' Joe, in middle o' the din, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Slipt out a bit, an' soon come in | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' all below his dapper chin | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-jumpen in a zack. | 6 | ······ |
| An' in a twinklen tother chaps | 8 | ········ |
| Jist hung en to a crook wi' straps, | 8 | ········ |
| An' meaede en bear the maidens' slaps, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' prickens wi' a pin. | 6 | ······ |
| An' Jim, a-catchen Poll, poor chap, | 8 | ········ |
| In back-house in the dark, vell slap | 8 | ········ |
| Athirt a tub o' barm,--a trap | 8 | ········ |
| She set to catch en in. | 6 | ······ |
| An' then we zot down out o' breath, | 8 | ········ |
| An' meaede a circle roun' the he'th, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-keepen up our harmless me'th, | 8 | ····//˘· |
| Till supper wer a-come. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' after we'd a-had zome prog, | 8 | ········ |
| All tother chaps begun to jog, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Wi' sticks to lick a thief or dog, | 8 | ········ |
| To zee the maidens hwome. | 6 | ···/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.