Changes
By time's a-brought the mornen light,By time the light do weaene;By time's a-brought the young man's might,By time his might do weaene;The Winter snow do whiten grass,The zummer flow'rs do brighten grass,Vor zome things we do lose wi' pain,We've mwore that mid be jay to gain,An' my dear life do seem the seaemeWhile at my zideThere still do bideYour welcome feaece an' hwomely neaeme.
Wi' ev'ry day that woonce come onI had to choose a jay,Wi' many that be since a-goneI had to lose a jay.Drough longsome years a-wanderen,Drough lwonesome rest a-ponderen,Woone peaceful daytime wer a-bro'tTo heal the heart another smote;But my dear life do seem the seaemeWhile I can hear,A-sounden near,Your answ'ren vaice an' long-call'd neaeme.
An' oh! that hope, when life do dawn,Should rise to light our way,An' then, wi' weaenen het withdrawn,Should soon benight our way.Whatever mid beval me still,Wherever chance mid call me still,Though leaete my evenen tweil mid cease,An' though my night mid lose its peace,My life will seem to me the seaemeWhile you do sheaereMy daily ceaere,An' answer to your long-call'd neaeme.
Words in this poem
- brighten v. t.
- To make bright or brighter; to make to shine; to increase the luster of; to give a brighter hue to.
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- longsome a.
- Extended in length; tiresome. Bp. Hall. Prior. [AS. langsum.]
- benight v. t.
- To involve in darkness; to shroud with the shades of night; to obscure.
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Changes 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, Changes, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/changes.html, id L02347.
Form and metre
Changes is 36 lines in 3 stanzas of 12 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCCDDEFFE. 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 7.1 syllables. 25% 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 ABABCCDDEFFE lightA · weaeneB · mightA · weaeneB · grassC · grassC · painD · gainD · seaemeE · zideF · bideF · neaemeE
- 2 ABABCCDDEFFE onA · jayB · goneA · jayB · wanderenC · ponderenC · bro'tD · smoteD · seaemeE · hearF · nearF · neaemeE
- 3 ABABCCDDEFFE dawnA · wayB · withdrawnA · wayB · stillC · stillC · ceaseD · peaceD · seaemeE · sheaereF · ceaereF · neaemeE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| By time's a-brought the mornen light, | 8 | ········ |
| By time the light do weaene; | 6 | ······ |
| By time's a-brought the young man's might, | 8 | ········ |
| By time his might do weaene; | 6 | ······ |
| The Winter snow do whiten grass, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The zummer flow'rs do brighten grass, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vor zome things we do lose wi' pain, | 8 | ········ |
| We've mwore that mid be jay to gain, | 8 | ········ |
| An' my dear life do seem the seaeme | 8 | ········ |
| While at my zide | 4 | ···· |
| There still do bide | 4 | ···· |
| Your welcome feaece an' hwomely neaeme. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Wi' ev'ry day that woonce come on | 8 | ········ |
| I had to choose a jay, | 6 | ······ |
| Wi' many that be since a-gone | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I had to lose a jay. | 6 | ······ |
| Drough longsome years a-wanderen, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Drough lwonesome rest a-ponderen, | 9 | ········· |
| Woone peaceful daytime wer a-bro't | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| To heal the heart another smote; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| But my dear life do seem the seaeme | 8 | ········ |
| While I can hear, | 4 | ···· |
| A-sounden near, | 4 | ···· |
| Your answ'ren vaice an' long-call'd neaeme. | 8 | ········ |
| An' oh! that hope, when life do dawn, | 8 | ········ |
| Should rise to light our way, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| An' then, wi' weaenen het withdrawn, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Should soon benight our way. | 7 | ··˘//˘· |
| Whatever mid beval me still, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wherever chance mid call me still, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Though leaete my evenen tweil mid cease, | 9 | ········· |
| An' though my night mid lose its peace, | 8 | ········ |
| My life will seem to me the seaeme | 8 | ········ |
| While you do sheaere | 4 | ···· |
| My daily ceaere, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| An' answer to your long-call'd neaeme. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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.