A Good Father
No; mind thy father. When his tongueIs keen, he's still thy friend, John,Vor wolder vo'k should warn the youngHow wickedness will end, John;An' he do know a wicked youthWould be thy manhood's beaene,An' zoo would bring thee back ageaen'Ithin the ways o' truth.
An' mind en still when in the endHis leaebour's all a-done, John,An' let en vind a steadvast friendIn thee his thoughtvul son, John;Vor he did win what thou didst lackAvore couldst work or stand,An' zoo, when time do num' his hand,Then pay his leaebour back.
An' when his bwones be in the dust,Then honour still his neaeme, John;An' as his godly soul wer just,Let thine be voun' the seaeme, John.Be true, as he wer true, to men,An' love the laws o' God;Still tread the road that he've a-trod,An' live wi' him ageaen.
Words in this poem
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Good Father 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 Good Father, 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-good-father.html, id L02135.
Form and metre
A Good Father is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDDC, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABABCDDC tongueA · johnB · youngA · johnB · youthC · beaeneD · ageaenD · truthC
- 2 ABABCDDC endA · johnB · friendA · johnB · lackC · standD · handD · backC
- 3 ABAB-CC- dustA · johnB · justA · johnB · men · godC · trodC · ageaen
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No; mind thy father. When his tongue | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is keen, he's still thy friend, John, | 7 | ······· |
| Vor wolder vo'k should warn the young | 8 | ········ |
| How wickedness will end, John; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| An' he do know a wicked youth | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Would be thy manhood's beaene, | 6 | ···/·· |
| An' zoo would bring thee back ageaen | 8 | ········ |
| 'Ithin the ways o' truth. | 6 | ······ |
| An' mind en still when in the end | 8 | ········ |
| His leaebour's all a-done, John, | 7 | ······· |
| An' let en vind a steadvast friend | 8 | ········ |
| In thee his thoughtvul son, John; | 7 | ······· |
| Vor he did win what thou didst lack | 8 | ········ |
| Avore couldst work or stand, | 6 | ······ |
| An' zoo, when time do num' his hand, | 8 | ········ |
| Then pay his leaebour back. | 6 | ······ |
| An' when his bwones be in the dust, | 8 | ········ |
| Then honour still his neaeme, John; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| An' as his godly soul wer just, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Let thine be voun' the seaeme, John. | 7 | ······· |
| Be true, as he wer true, to men, | 8 | ········ |
| An' love the laws o' God; | 6 | ······ |
| Still tread the road that he've a-trod, | 8 | ········ |
| An' live wi' him ageaen. | 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.