Evenen Light
The while I took my bit o' rest,Below my house's eastern sheaede,The things that stood in vield an' gleaedeWer bright in zunsheen vrom the west.There bright wer east-ward mound an' wall,An' bright wer trees, arisen tall,An' bright did break 'ithin the brook,Down rocks, the watervall.
There deep 'ithin my pworches bowDid hang my heavy woaken door,An' in beyond en, on the vloor,The evenen dusk did gather slow;But bright did gleaere the twinklen spwokesO' runnen carriage wheels, as vo'ksOut east did ride along the road,Bezide the low-bough'd woaks,
An' I'd a-lost the zun vrom view,Until ageaen his feaece mid rise,A-sheenen vrom the eastern skiesTo brighten up the rwose-borne dew;But still his lingren light did gi'eMy heart a touchen jay, to zeeHis beams a-shed, wi' stratchen sheaede,On east-ward wall an' tree.
When jay, a-zent me vrom above,Vrom my sad heart is now agone,An' others be a-walken on,Amid the light ov Heaven's love,Oh! then vor loven-kindness seaeke,Mid I rejaeice that zome do teaekeMy hopes a-gone, until ageaenMy happy dawn do breaek.
Words in this poem
- brighten v. t.
- To make bright or brighter; to make to shine; to increase the luster of; to give a brighter hue to.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Evenen Light 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, Evenen Light, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/evenen-light.html, id L02314.
Form and metre
Evenen Light is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 28% 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 ABBACC-C restA · sheaedeB · gleaedeB · westA · wallC · tallC · brook · watervallC
- 2 ABBAC--C bowA · doorB · vloorB · slowA · spwokesC · vo'ks · road · woaksC
- 3 ABBA-C-C viewA · riseB · skiesB · dewA · gi'e · zeeC · sheaede · treeC
- 4 A--ABB-B aboveA · agone · on · loveA · seaekeB · teaekeB · ageaen · breaekB
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 while I took my bit o' rest, | 8 | ········ |
| Below my house's eastern sheaede, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The things that stood in vield an' gleaede | 8 | ········ |
| Wer bright in zunsheen vrom the west. | 8 | ········ |
| There bright wer east-ward mound an' wall, | 8 | ········ |
| An' bright wer trees, arisen tall, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| An' bright did break 'ithin the brook, | 8 | ········ |
| Down rocks, the watervall. | 6 | ······ |
| There deep 'ithin my pworches bow | 8 | ········ |
| Did hang my heavy woaken door, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' in beyond en, on the vloor, | 8 | ········ |
| The evenen dusk did gather slow; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| But bright did gleaere the twinklen spwokes | 8 | ········ |
| O' runnen carriage wheels, as vo'ks | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Out east did ride along the road, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Bezide the low-bough'd woaks, | 6 | ······ |
| An' I'd a-lost the zun vrom view, | 8 | ········ |
| Until ageaen his feaece mid rise, | 8 | ········ |
| A-sheenen vrom the eastern skies | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To brighten up the rwose-borne dew; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But still his lingren light did gi'e | 8 | ········ |
| My heart a touchen jay, to zee | 8 | ········ |
| His beams a-shed, wi' stratchen sheaede, | 8 | ········ |
| On east-ward wall an' tree. | 6 | ······ |
| When jay, a-zent me vrom above, | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom my sad heart is now agone, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| An' others be a-walken on, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Amid the light ov Heaven's love, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Oh! then vor loven-kindness seaeke, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Mid I rejaeice that zome do teaeke | 8 | ········ |
| My hopes a-gone, until ageaen | 8 | ········ |
| My happy dawn do breaek. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.