Eclogue: The Best Man in the Vield
That's slowish work, Bob. What'st a-been about?Thy pooken don't goo on not over sprack.Why I've a-pook'd my weaele, lo'k zee, clear out,An' here I be ageaen a-turnen back.
I'll work wi' thee then, Sammy, any day,At any work dost like to teaeke me at,Vor any money thou dost like to lay.Now, Mister Sammy, what dost think o' that?My weaele is nearly twice so big as thine,Or else, I warnt, I shouldden be behin'.
Ah! hang thee, Bob! don't tell sich whoppen lies.My weaele's the biggest, if do come to size.'Tis jist the seaeme whatever bist about;Why, when dost goo a-tedden grass, you sloth,Another hand's a-fwo'c'd to teaeke thy zwath,An' ted a half way back to help thee out;An' then a-reaeken rollers, bist so slack,Dost keep the very bwoys an' women back.An' if dost think that thou canst challenge IAt any thing,--then, Bob, we'll teaeke a pick a-piece,An' woonce theaese zummer, goo an' tryTo meaeke a rick a-piece.A rick o' thine wull look a little funny,When thou'st a-done en, I'll bet any money.
You noggerhead! last year thou meaed'st a rick,An' then we had to trig en wi' a stick.An' what did John that tipp'd en zay? Why zaidHe stood a-top o'en all the while in dread,A-thinken that avore he should a-done enHe'd tumble over slap wi' him upon en.
You yoppen dog! I warnt I meaede my rickSo well's thou meaed'st thy lwoad o' hay last week.They hadden got a hundred yards to haul en,An' then they vound 'twer best to have en boun',Vor if they hadden, 'twould a-tumbl'd down;An' after that I zeed en all but vallen,An' trigg'd en up wi' woone o'm's pitchen pick,To zee if I could meaeke en ride to rick;An' when they had the dumpy heap unboun',He vell to pieces flat upon the groun'.
Do shut thy lyen chops! What dosten mindThy pitchen to me out in Gully-plot,A-meaeken o' me wait (wast zoo behind)A half an hour vor ev'ry pitch I got?An' how didst groun' thy pick? an' how didst quirkTo get en up on end? Why hadst hard workTo rise a pitch that wer about so big'S a goodish crow's nest, or a wold man's wig!Why bist so weak, dost know, as any roller:Zome o' the women vo'k will beaet thee hollor.
You snub-nos'd flopperchops! I pitch'd so quick,That thou dost know thou hadst a hardish jobTo teaeke in all the pitches off my pick;An' dissen zee me groun' en, nother, Bob.An' thou bist stronger, thou dost think, than I?Girt bandy-lags! I jist should like to try.We'll goo, if thou dost like, an' jist zee whichCan heave the mwost, or car the biggest nitch.
You grinnen fool! why I'd zet thee a-blowen,If thou wast wi' me vor a day a-mowen.I'd wear my cwoat, an' thou midst pull thy rags off,An' then in half a zwath I'd mow thy lags off.
Thee mow wi' me! Why coossen keep up wi' me:Why bissen fit to goo a-vield to skimmy,Or mow down docks an' thistles! Why I'll betA shillen, Samel, that thou cassen whet.
Words in this poem 17
- sprack a.
- Quick; lively' alert. [Cf. Icel. spækr sprightly, dial. Sw. spräk, spräg, spirited, mettlesome; or Gael. spraic vigor.]
- mister n.
- A trade, art, or occupation. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.]
- biggest a.
- , superl. of Big.
- funny a.
- Droll; comical; amusing; laughable. Funny bone. See crazy bone, under Crazy. [From Fun.]
- trig v. t.
- To fill; to stuff; to cram. Dr. H. More. [Cf. Dan. trykke to press, Sw. trycka.]
- dumpy a.
- From Dump a short ill-shapen piece.
- 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.]
- chops n.
- The jaws; also, the fleshy parts about the mouth. [See Chop a jaw.]
- gully v. i.
- To flow noisily. Johnson.
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- quirk n.
- A sudden turn; a starting from the point or line; hence, an artful evasion or subterfuge; a shift; a quibble; as, the quirks of a pettifogger. [Cf W. chwiori to turn briskly, or E. queer.]
- goodish a.
- Rather good than the contrary; not actually bad; tolerable.
- 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.]
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- blowen n.
- A prostitute; a courtesan; a strumpet. [Low] Smart.
- whet v. t.
- To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bol]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Eclogue: The Best Man in the Vield 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, Eclogue: The Best Man in the Vield, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/eclogue-the-best-man-in-the-vield.html, id L18511.
Form and metre
Eclogue: The Best Man in the Vield is 66 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABAB aboutA · sprackB · outA · backB
- 2 ABAB-- dayA · atB · layA · thatB · thine · behin
- 3 AABCCBDDEFEFGG liesA · sizeA · aboutB · slothC · zwathC · outB · slackD · backD · iE · pieceF · tryE · pieceF · funnyG · moneyG
- 4 AA--BB rickA · stickA · zaid · dread · enB · enB
- 5 A--B--AABB rickA · week · en · bounB · down · vallen · pickA · rickA · unbounB · grounB
- 6 ABABCCDD-- mindA · plotB · behindA · gotB · quirkC · workC · bigD · wigD · roller · hollor
- 7 ABABCCDD quickA · jobB · pickA · bobB · iC · tryC · whichD · nitchD
- 8 --AA blowen · mowen · offA · offA
- 9 --AA me · skimmy · betA · whetA
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| That's slowish work, Bob. What'st a-been about? | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy pooken don't goo on not over sprack. | 10 | ·········· |
| Why I've a-pook'd my weaele, lo'k zee, clear out, | 11 | ··········· |
| An' here I be ageaen a-turnen back. | 10 | ·········· |
| I'll work wi' thee then, Sammy, any day, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| At any work dost like to teaeke me at, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Vor any money thou dost like to lay. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Now, Mister Sammy, what dost think o' that? | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| My weaele is nearly twice so big as thine, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Or else, I warnt, I shouldden be behin'. | 10 | ·········· |
| Ah! hang thee, Bob! don't tell sich whoppen lies. | 12 | ············ |
| My weaele's the biggest, if do come to size. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| 'Tis jist the seaeme whatever bist about; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Why, when dost goo a-tedden grass, you sloth, | 10 | ·········· |
| Another hand's a-fwo'c'd to teaeke thy zwath, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| An' ted a half way back to help thee out; | 10 | ·········· |
| An' then a-reaeken rollers, bist so slack, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Dost keep the very bwoys an' women back. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| An' if dost think that thou canst challenge I | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| At any thing,--then, Bob, we'll teaeke a pick a-piece, | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| An' woonce theaese zummer, goo an' try | 8 | ········ |
| To meaeke a rick a-piece. | 6 | ······ |
| A rick o' thine wull look a little funny, | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| When thou'st a-done en, I'll bet any money. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| You noggerhead! last year thou meaed'st a rick, | 10 | ·········· |
| An' then we had to trig en wi' a stick. | 10 | ·········· |
| An' what did John that tipp'd en zay? Why zaid | 10 | ·········· |
| He stood a-top o'en all the while in dread, | 10 | ·········· |
| A-thinken that avore he should a-done en | 11 | ··········· |
| He'd tumble over slap wi' him upon en. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| You yoppen dog! I warnt I meaede my rick | 10 | ·········· |
| So well's thou meaed'st thy lwoad o' hay last week. | 10 | ·········· |
| They hadden got a hundred yards to haul en, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| An' then they vound 'twer best to have en boun', | 10 | ·········· |
| Vor if they hadden, 'twould a-tumbl'd down; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| An' after that I zeed en all but vallen, | 11 | ··········· |
| An' trigg'd en up wi' woone o'm's pitchen pick, | 10 | ·········· |
| To zee if I could meaeke en ride to rick; | 10 | ·········· |
| An' when they had the dumpy heap unboun', | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| He vell to pieces flat upon the groun'. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Do shut thy lyen chops! What dosten mind | 9 | ········· |
| Thy pitchen to me out in Gully-plot, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A-meaeken o' me wait (wast zoo behind) | 10 | ·········· |
| A half an hour vor ev'ry pitch I got? | 10 | ···/······ |
| An' how didst groun' thy pick? an' how didst quirk | 10 | ·········· |
| To get en up on end? Why hadst hard work | 10 | ·········· |
| To rise a pitch that wer about so big | 10 | ·········· |
| 'S a goodish crow's nest, or a wold man's wig! | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Why bist so weak, dost know, as any roller: | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Zome o' the women vo'k will beaet thee hollor. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| You snub-nos'd flopperchops! I pitch'd so quick, | 10 | ·········· |
| That thou dost know thou hadst a hardish job | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To teaeke in all the pitches off my pick; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| An' dissen zee me groun' en, nother, Bob. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| An' thou bist stronger, thou dost think, than I? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Girt bandy-lags! I jist should like to try. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| We'll goo, if thou dost like, an' jist zee which | 10 | ·········· |
| Can heave the mwost, or car the biggest nitch. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| You grinnen fool! why I'd zet thee a-blowen, | 11 | ··········· |
| If thou wast wi' me vor a day a-mowen. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| I'd wear my cwoat, an' thou midst pull thy rags off, | 11 | ··········· |
| An' then in half a zwath I'd mow thy lags off. | 11 | ··········· |
| Thee mow wi' me! Why coossen keep up wi' me: | 11 | ··········· |
| Why bissen fit to goo a-vield to skimmy, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Or mow down docks an' thistles! Why I'll bet | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A shillen, Samel, that thou cassen whet. | 10 | ·········· |
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.