Dobbin Dead
Ees, my meaere is a-gone, an' the cart's in the shedWi' his wheelbonds a-rusten, an' I'm out o' bread;Vor what be my han's vor to eaern me a croust,Wi' noo meaere's vower legs vor to trample the doust.
Why, I gi'ed en his run, an' he shook his wold meaene,An' he rambled a-veeden in Westergap Leaene;An' there he must needs goo a-riggen, an' cropeVor a vew bleaedes o' grass up the wo'st o' the slope;Though I should ha' thought his wold head would ha' know'dThat vor stiff lags, lik' his, the best pleaece wer the road.
Noo, but there, I'm a-twold, he did clim' an' did slide,An' did screaepe, an' did slip, on the shelven bank-zide,An' at langth lost his vooten, an' roll'd vrom the top,Down, thump, kick, an' higgledly, piggledly, flop.
He wer out, an' a-meaeken his way to the brinkO' the stream at the end o' Church Leaene, vor to drink;An' he met wi' zome yew-twigs the men had a-castVrom the yew-tree, in churchyard, the road that he past.He wer pweison'd. (1.) O dear, 'tis a hard loss to bear,Vor a tranter's whole bread is a-lost wi' his meaere;But ov all churches' yew-trees, I never zet eyesOn a tree that would come up to thik woone vor size.
Noo, 'tis long years agone, but do linger as clearIn my mind though as if I'd a-heaerd it to year.When King George wer in Do'set, an' show'd us his feaeceBy our very own doors, at our very own pleaece,That he look'd at thik yew-tree, an' nodded his head,An' he zaid,--an' I'll tell ye the words that he zaid:--"I'll be bound, if you'll sarch my dominions all drough.That you woon't vind the fellow to thik there wold yew."
Words in this poem
- vower n.
- One who makes a vow. Bale.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- flop v. t.
- To clap or strike, as a bird its wings, a fish its tail, etc.; to flap. [A variant of flap.]
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- churchyard n.
- The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dobbin Dead 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, Dobbin Dead, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/dobbin-dead.html, id L02244.
Form and metre
Dobbin Dead is 30 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines. 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.9 syllables. 27% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets.
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 shedA · breadA · croustB · doustB
- 2 AABBCC meaeneA · leaeneA · cropeB · slopeB · know'dC · roadC
- 3 AABB slideA · zideA · topB · flopB
- 4 AABB--CC brinkA · drinkA · castB · pastB · bear · meaere · eyesC · sizeC
- 5 AABB---- clearA · yearA · feaeceB · pleaeceB · head · zaid · drough · yew
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ees, my meaere is a-gone, an' the cart's in the shed | 12 | ············ |
| Wi' his wheelbonds a-rusten, an' I'm out o' bread; | 12 | ············ |
| Vor what be my han's vor to eaern me a croust, | 11 | ··········· |
| Wi' noo meaere's vower legs vor to trample the doust. | 12 | ···/˘···/˘·· |
| Why, I gi'ed en his run, an' he shook his wold meaene, | 12 | ············ |
| An' he rambled a-veeden in Westergap Leaene; | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| An' there he must needs goo a-riggen, an' crope | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Vor a vew bleaedes o' grass up the wo'st o' the slope; | 12 | ············ |
| Though I should ha' thought his wold head would ha' know'd | 11 | ··········· |
| That vor stiff lags, lik' his, the best pleaece wer the road. | 12 | ············ |
| Noo, but there, I'm a-twold, he did clim' an' did slide, | 12 | ············ |
| An' did screaepe, an' did slip, on the shelven bank-zide, | 12 | ············ |
| An' at langth lost his vooten, an' roll'd vrom the top, | 12 | ············ |
| Down, thump, kick, an' higgledly, piggledly, flop. | 11 | ··········· |
| He wer out, an' a-meaeken his way to the brink | 12 | ············ |
| O' the stream at the end o' Church Leaene, vor to drink; | 12 | ············ |
| An' he met wi' zome yew-twigs the men had a-cast | 12 | ············ |
| Vrom the yew-tree, in churchyard, the road that he past. | 12 | ·····/······ |
| He wer pweison'd. (1.) O dear, 'tis a hard loss to bear, | 12 | ············ |
| Vor a tranter's whole bread is a-lost wi' his meaere; | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| But ov all churches' yew-trees, I never zet eyes | 11 | ···/˘···/·· |
| On a tree that would come up to thik woone vor size. | 12 | ············ |
| Noo, 'tis long years agone, but do linger as clear | 12 | ····˘/··/˘·· |
| In my mind though as if I'd a-heaerd it to year. | 12 | ············ |
| When King George wer in Do'set, an' show'd us his feaece | 13 | ············· |
| By our very own doors, at our very own pleaece, | 12 | ·//˘···//˘·· |
| That he look'd at thik yew-tree, an' nodded his head, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| An' he zaid,--an' I'll tell ye the words that he zaid:-- | 12 | ············ |
| "I'll be bound, if you'll sarch my dominions all drough. | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| That you woon't vind the fellow to thik there wold yew." | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
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.