Easter Monday
An' zoo o' Monday we got droughOur work betimes, an ax'd a vewYoung vo'k vrom Stowe an' Coom, an' zomeVrom uncle's down at Grange, to come.An' they so spry, wi' merry smiles,Did beaet the path an' leaep the stiles,Wi' two or dree young chaps bezide,To meet an' keep up Easter tide:Vor we'd a-zaid avore, we'd gitZome friends to come, an' have a bitO' fun wi' me, an' Jeaene, an' Kit,Because 'twer Easter Monday.
An' there we play'd away at quaits,An' weigh'd ourzelves wi' sceaeles an' waights;An' jump'd to zee who jump'd the spryest,An' sprung the vurdest an' the highest;An' rung the bells vor vull an hour.An' play'd at vives ageaen the tower.An' then we went an' had a tait,An' cousin Sammy, wi' his waight,Broke off the bar, he wer so fat!An' toppled off, an' vell down flatUpon his head, an' squot his hat,Because 'twer Easter Monday.
Words in this poem
- betimes adv.
- In good season or time; before it is late; seasonably; early. [Pref. be- (for by) + time; that is, by the proper time. The -s is an adverbial ending.]
- coom n.
- Soot; coal dust; refuse matter, as the dirty grease which comes from axle boxes, or the refuse at the mouth of an oven. Phillips. [Cf. G. kahm mold gathered on liquids, D. kam, Sw. kimrök pine soot, smoke black, Icel. kam grime, film of dirt.]
- grange n.
- A building for storing grain; a granary. [F. grange barn, LL. granea, from L. granum grain. See Grain a kernel.]
- spry a.
- Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active. [U.S. [Cf. dial. Sw. sprygg lively, skittish, and E. sprag.]
- dree v. i.
- To be able to do or endure.
- rung n.
- A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
- vives n.
- A disease of brute animals, especially of horses, seated in the glands under the ear, where a tumor is formed which sometimes ends in suppuration. [OF. vives, F. avives (cf. Sp. abivas, adiva) fr. Ar. ad-dhiba. Cf. Fives vives.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Easter Monday 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, Easter Monday, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/easter-monday.html, id L02039.
Form and metre
Easter Monday is 24 lines in 2 stanzas of 12 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic 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 8.1 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 ----AABB-CC- drough · vew · zome · come · smilesA · stilesA · bezideB · tideB · git · bitC · kitC · monday
- 2 AA--BBCCDDD- quaitsA · waightsA · spryest · highest · hourB · towerB · taitC · waightC · fatD · flatD · hatD · monday
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 |
|---|---|---|
| An' zoo o' Monday we got drough | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Our work betimes, an ax'd a vew | 8 | /······· |
| Young vo'k vrom Stowe an' Coom, an' zome | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom uncle's down at Grange, to come. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' they so spry, wi' merry smiles, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Did beaet the path an' leaep the stiles, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' two or dree young chaps bezide, | 8 | ········ |
| To meet an' keep up Easter tide: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vor we'd a-zaid avore, we'd git | 8 | ········ |
| Zome friends to come, an' have a bit | 8 | ········ |
| O' fun wi' me, an' Jeaene, an' Kit, | 8 | ········ |
| Because 'twer Easter Monday. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| An' there we play'd away at quaits, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| An' weigh'd ourzelves wi' sceaeles an' waights; | 8 | ········ |
| An' jump'd to zee who jump'd the spryest, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| An' sprung the vurdest an' the highest; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| An' rung the bells vor vull an hour. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| An' play'd at vives ageaen the tower. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| An' then we went an' had a tait, | 8 | ········ |
| An' cousin Sammy, wi' his waight, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Broke off the bar, he wer so fat! | 8 | ········ |
| An' toppled off, an' vell down flat | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon his head, an' squot his hat, | 8 | ········ |
| Because 'twer Easter Monday. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
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.