A Zong
O Jenny, don't sobby! vor I shall be true;Noo might under heaven shall peaert me vrom you.My heart will be cwold, Jenny, when I do slightThe zwell o' thy bosom, thy eyes' sparklen light.
My kinsvo'k would fain zee me teaeke vor my meaeteA maid that ha' wealth, but a maid I should heaete;But I'd sooner leaebour wi' thee vor my bride,Than live lik' a squier wi' any bezide.
Vor all busy kinsvo'k, my love will be stillA-zet upon thee lik' the vir in the hill;An' though they mid worry, an' dreaten, an' mock,My head's in the storm, but my root's in the rock.
Zoo, Jenny, don't sobby! vor I shall be true;Noo might under heaven shall peaert me vrom you.My heart will be cwold, Jenny, when I do slightThe zwell o' thy bosom, thy eyes' sparklen light.
Words in this poem
- jenny n.
- A familiar or pet form of the proper name Jane.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- squier n.
- A square. See 1st Squire.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Zong 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 Zong, 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-zong.html, id L02121.
Form and metre
A Zong is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.8 syllables. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic 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 AABB trueA · youA · slightB · lightB
- 2 AABB meaeteA · heaeteA · brideB · bezideB
- 3 AABB stillA · hillA · mockB · rockB
- 4 AABB trueA · youA · slightB · lightB
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O Jenny, don't sobby! vor I shall be true; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Noo might under heaven shall peaert me vrom you. | 10 | ····/····· |
| My heart will be cwold, Jenny, when I do slight | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| The zwell o' thy bosom, thy eyes' sparklen light. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| My kinsvo'k would fain zee me teaeke vor my meaete | 11 | ··········· |
| A maid that ha' wealth, but a maid I should heaete; | 11 | ··········· |
| But I'd sooner leaebour wi' thee vor my bride, | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Than live lik' a squier wi' any bezide. | 10 | ····/·/˘·· |
| Vor all busy kinsvo'k, my love will be still | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| A-zet upon thee lik' the vir in the hill; | 11 | ··········· |
| An' though they mid worry, an' dreaten, an' mock, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| My head's in the storm, but my root's in the rock. | 11 | ··········· |
| Zoo, Jenny, don't sobby! vor I shall be true; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Noo might under heaven shall peaert me vrom you. | 10 | ····/····· |
| My heart will be cwold, Jenny, when I do slight | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| The zwell o' thy bosom, thy eyes' sparklen light. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
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.