Evenen Twilight
Ah! they vew zummers brought us roundThe happiest days that we've a-vound,When in the orcha'd, that did stratchTo westward out avore the patchOv high-bough'd wood, an' shelve to catchThe western zun-light, we did meetWi' merry tongues an' skippen veetAt evenen in the twilight.
The evenen air did fan, in turn,The cheaeks the midday zun did burn.An' zet the russlen leaves at play,An' meaeke the red-stemm'd brembles swayIn bows below the snow-white may;An' whirlen roun' the trees, did sheaekeJeaene's raven curls about her neck,They evenens in the twilight.
An' there the yollow light did restUpon the bank toward the west,An' twitt'ren birds did hop in droughThe hedge, an' many a skippen shoeDid beaet the flowers, wet wi' dew,As underneaeth the tree's wide limbOur merry sheaepes did jumpy, dim,They evenens in the twilight.
How sweet's the evenen dusk to roveAlong wi' woone that we do love!When light enough is in the skyTo sheaede the smile an' light the eye'Tis all but heaven to be by;An' bid, in whispers soft an' light'S the ruslen ov a leaf, "Good night,"At evenen in the twilight.
An' happy be the young an' strong,That can but work the whole day longSo merry as the birds in spring;An' have noo ho vor any thingAnother day mid teaeke or bring;But meet, when all their work's a-done,In orcha'd vor their bit o' funAt evenen in the twilight.
Words in this poem
- shelve v. t.
- To furnish with shelves; as, to shelve a closet or a library.
- jumpy a.
- Jumping, or inducing to jump; characterized by jumps; hence, extremely nervous.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Evenen Twilight 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 Twilight, 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-twilight.html, id L02047.
Form and metre
Evenen Twilight is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 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 87%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 48% 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 AABBBCC- roundA · voundA · stratchB · patchB · catchB · meetC · veetC · twilight
- 2 AABBB--- turnA · burnA · playB · swayB · mayB · sheaeke · neck · twilight
- 3 AA-BBCC- restA · westA · drough · shoeB · dewB · limbC · dimC · twilight
- 4 --AAABBB rove · love · skyA · eyeA · byA · lightB · nightB · twilightB
- 5 AABBBCC- strongA · longA · springB · thingB · bringB · doneC · funC · twilight
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah! they vew zummers brought us round | 8 | ········ |
| The happiest days that we've a-vound, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When in the orcha'd, that did stratch | 8 | ········ |
| To westward out avore the patch | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ov high-bough'd wood, an' shelve to catch | 8 | ········ |
| The western zun-light, we did meet | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wi' merry tongues an' skippen veet | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| At evenen in the twilight. | 8 | ······/· |
| The evenen air did fan, in turn, | 9 | ········· |
| The cheaeks the midday zun did burn. | 8 | ···/···· |
| An' zet the russlen leaves at play, | 8 | ········ |
| An' meaeke the red-stemm'd brembles sway | 7 | ······· |
| In bows below the snow-white may; | 8 | ········ |
| An' whirlen roun' the trees, did sheaeke | 8 | ········ |
| Jeaene's raven curls about her neck, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| They evenens in the twilight. | 8 | ······/· |
| An' there the yollow light did rest | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the bank toward the west, | 8 | ········ |
| An' twitt'ren birds did hop in drough | 8 | ········ |
| The hedge, an' many a skippen shoe | 8 | ···/···· |
| Did beaet the flowers, wet wi' dew, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As underneaeth the tree's wide limb | 8 | ········ |
| Our merry sheaepes did jumpy, dim, | 8 | //˘··/˘· |
| They evenens in the twilight. | 8 | ······/· |
| How sweet's the evenen dusk to rove | 9 | ········· |
| Along wi' woone that we do love! | 8 | ˘/······ |
| When light enough is in the sky | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| To sheaede the smile an' light the eye | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis all but heaven to be by; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' bid, in whispers soft an' light | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'S the ruslen ov a leaf, "Good night," | 9 | ········· |
| At evenen in the twilight. | 8 | ······/· |
| An' happy be the young an' strong, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That can but work the whole day long | 8 | ········ |
| So merry as the birds in spring; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' have noo ho vor any thing | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Another day mid teaeke or bring; | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| But meet, when all their work's a-done, | 8 | ········ |
| In orcha'd vor their bit o' fun | 8 | ········ |
| At evenen in the twilight. | 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.