Dock-Leaves
The dock-leaves that do spread so wideUp yonder zunny bank's green zide,Do bring to mind what we did doAt play wi' dock-leaves years agoo:How we,--when nettles had a-stungOur little hands, when we wer young,--Did rub em wi' a dock, an' zing"Out nettl', in dock. In dock, out sting."An' when your feaece, in zummer's het,Did sheen wi' tricklen draps o' zweat,How you, a-zot bezide the bank,Didst toss your little head, an' pank,An' teaeke a dock-leaf in your han',An' whisk en lik' a leaedy's fan;While I did hunt, 'ithin your zight,Vor streaky cockle-shells to fight.
In all our play-geaemes we did bruiseThe dock-leaves wi' our nimble shoes;Bwoth where we merry chaps did flingYou maidens in the orcha'd swing,An' by the zaw-pit's dousty bank,Where we did tait upon a plank.--(D'ye mind how woonce, you cou'den zitThe bwoard, an' vell off into pit?)An' when we hunted you aboutThe grassy barken, in an' outAmong the ricks, your vlee-en frocksAn' nimble veet did strik' the docks.An' zoo they docks, a-spread so wideUp yonder zunny bank's green zide,Do bring to mind what we did do,Among the dock-leaves years agoo.
Words in this poem
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- 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.]
- barken a.
- Made of bark. Whittier.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dock-Leaves 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, Dock-Leaves, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/dock-leaves.html, id L02040.
Form and metre
Dock-Leaves is 32 lines in 2 stanzas of 16 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 81% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 34% 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 AA--BBCCDDEEFFGG wideA · zideA · do · agoo · stungB · youngB · zingC · stingC · hetD · zweatD · bankE · pankE · hanF · fanF · zightG · fightG
- 2 AABBCC--DDEEFF-- bruiseA · shoesA · flingB · swingB · bankC · plankC · zit · pit · aboutD · outD · frocksE · docksE · wideF · zideF · do · agoo
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The dock-leaves that do spread so wide | 8 | ········ |
| Up yonder zunny bank's green zide, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Do bring to mind what we did do | 8 | ········ |
| At play wi' dock-leaves years agoo: | 8 | ········ |
| How we,--when nettles had a-stung | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Our little hands, when we wer young,-- | 8 | //˘····· |
| Did rub em wi' a dock, an' zing | 8 | ········ |
| "Out nettl', in dock. In dock, out sting." | 8 | ········ |
| An' when your feaece, in zummer's het, | 8 | ········ |
| Did sheen wi' tricklen draps o' zweat, | 8 | ········ |
| How you, a-zot bezide the bank, | 8 | ········ |
| Didst toss your little head, an' pank, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' teaeke a dock-leaf in your han', | 8 | ········ |
| An' whisk en lik' a leaedy's fan; | 8 | ········ |
| While I did hunt, 'ithin your zight, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor streaky cockle-shells to fight. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| In all our play-geaemes we did bruise | 8 | ··/····· |
| The dock-leaves wi' our nimble shoes; | 8 | ····//˘· |
| Bwoth where we merry chaps did fling | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| You maidens in the orcha'd swing, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' by the zaw-pit's dousty bank, | 8 | ········ |
| Where we did tait upon a plank. | 8 | ········ |
| --(D'ye mind how woonce, you cou'den zit | 8 | ········ |
| The bwoard, an' vell off into pit?) | 8 | ········ |
| An' when we hunted you about | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The grassy barken, in an' out | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Among the ricks, your vlee-en frocks | 8 | ········ |
| An' nimble veet did strik' the docks. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' zoo they docks, a-spread so wide | 8 | ········ |
| Up yonder zunny bank's green zide, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Do bring to mind what we did do, | 8 | ········ |
| Among the dock-leaves years agoo. | 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.