Early Pla[:Y]Meaete
After many long years had a-run,The while I wer a-gone vrom the pleaece,I come back to the vields, where the zunOv her childhood did show me her feaece.There her father, years wolder, did stoop.An' her brother, wer now a-grow'd staid,An' the apple tree lower did droop.Out in the orcha'd where we had a-play'd,There wer zome things a-seemen the seaeme,But Meaery's a-married away.
There wer two little childern a-zent,Wi' a message to me, oh! so feairAs the mother that they did zoo ment,When in childhood she play'd wi' me there.Zoo they twold me that if I would comeDown to Coomb, I should zee a wold friend,Vor a playmeaete o' mine wer at hwome,An' would stay till another week's end.At the dear pworched door, could I dareTo zee Meaery a-married away!
On the flower-not, now all a-trodStwony hard, the green grass wer a-spread,An' the long-slighted woodbine did nodVrom the wall, wi' a loose-hangen head.An' the martin's clay nest wer a-hungUp below the brown oves, in the dry,An' the rooks had a-rock'd broods o' youngOn the elems below the May sky;But the bud on the bed, coulden bide,Wi' young Meaery a-married away.
There the copse-wood, a-grow'd to a height,Wer a-vell'd, an' the primrwose in blooth,Among chips on the ground a-turn'd white,Wer a-quiv'ren, all beaere ov his lewth.The green moss wer a-spread on the thatch,That I left yollow reed, an' avoreThe small green, there did swing a new hatch,Vor to let me walk into the door.Oh! the rook did still rock o'er the rick,But wi' Meaery a-married away.
Words in this poem
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- coomb n.
- A dry measure of four bushels, or half a quarter. [AS. cumb a liquid measure, perh. from LL. cumba boat, tomb of stone, fr. Gr. kumpf bowl.]
- 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.]
- 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.]
- copse n.
- A wood of small growth; a thicket of brushwood. See Coppice. [Contr. from coppice.]
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
- rook n.
- Mist; fog. See Roke.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Early Pla[:Y]Meaete 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, Early Pla[:Y]Meaete, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/early-pla-y-meaete.html, id L02272.
Form and metre
Early Pla[:Y]Meaete is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.9 syllables. 22% 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 -A-ABCBC-- run · pleaeceA · zun · feaeceA · stoopB · staidC · droopB · play'dC · seaeme · away
- 2 ABAB-C-CB- zentA · feairB · mentA · thereB · come · friendC · hwome · endC · dareB · away
- 3 ABABCDCD-- trodA · spreadB · nodA · headB · hungC · dryD · youngC · skyD · bide · away
- 4 A-A-BCBC-- heightA · blooth · whiteA · lewth · thatchB · avoreC · hatchB · doorC · rick · away
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 |
|---|---|---|
| After many long years had a-run, | 8 | ··/····· |
| The while I wer a-gone vrom the pleaece, | 9 | ········· |
| I come back to the vields, where the zun | 9 | ········· |
| Ov her childhood did show me her feaece. | 9 | ··/······ |
| There her father, years wolder, did stoop. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| An' her brother, wer now a-grow'd staid, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| An' the apple tree lower did droop. | 8 | ··/˘·/·· |
| Out in the orcha'd where we had a-play'd, | 10 | ·········· |
| There wer zome things a-seemen the seaeme, | 9 | ········· |
| But Meaery's a-married away. | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| There wer two little childern a-zent, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Wi' a message to me, oh! so feair | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| As the mother that they did zoo ment, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| When in childhood she play'd wi' me there. | 9 | ··/······ |
| Zoo they twold me that if I would come | 9 | ········· |
| Down to Coomb, I should zee a wold friend, | 9 | ········· |
| Vor a playmeaete o' mine wer at hwome, | 9 | ········· |
| An' would stay till another week's end. | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| At the dear pworched door, could I dare | 8 | ········ |
| To zee Meaery a-married away! | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| On the flower-not, now all a-trod | 8 | ··/····· |
| Stwony hard, the green grass wer a-spread, | 9 | ········· |
| An' the long-slighted woodbine did nod | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Vrom the wall, wi' a loose-hangen head. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| An' the martin's clay nest wer a-hung | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Up below the brown oves, in the dry, | 9 | ········· |
| An' the rooks had a-rock'd broods o' young | 9 | ········· |
| On the elems below the May sky; | 9 | ········· |
| But the bud on the bed, coulden bide, | 9 | ········· |
| Wi' young Meaery a-married away. | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| There the copse-wood, a-grow'd to a height, | 9 | ········· |
| Wer a-vell'd, an' the primrwose in blooth, | 9 | ········· |
| Among chips on the ground a-turn'd white, | 9 | ········· |
| Wer a-quiv'ren, all beaere ov his lewth. | 9 | ········· |
| The green moss wer a-spread on the thatch, | 9 | ········· |
| That I left yollow reed, an' avore | 9 | ········· |
| The small green, there did swing a new hatch, | 9 | ········· |
| Vor to let me walk into the door. | 9 | ········· |
| Oh! the rook did still rock o'er the rick, | 9 | ········· |
| But wi' Meaery a-married away. | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
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.