Fancy
In stillness we ha' words to hear,An' sheaepes to zee in darkest night,An' tongues a-lost can hail us near,An' souls a-gone can smile in zight;When Fancy now do wander backTo years a-spent, an' bring to mindZome happy tide a-left behindIn' weaesten life's slow-beaten track.
When feaeden leaves do drip wi' rain,Our thoughts can ramble in the dry;When Winter win' do zweep the plainWe still can have a zunny sky.Vor though our limbs be winter-wrung,We still can zee, wi' Fancy's eyes,The brightest looks ov e'th an' skies,That we did know when we wer young.
In pain our thoughts can pass to eaese,In work our souls can be at play,An' leaeve behind the chilly leaeseVor warm-air'd meaeds o' new mow'd hay.When we do vlee in Fancy's flightVrom daily ills avore our feaece,An' linger in zome happy pleaeceOv me'th an' smiles, an' warmth an' light.
Words in this poem
- stillness n.
- The quality or state of being still; quietness; silence; calmness; inactivity.
- drip v. i.
- To fall in drops; as, water drips from the eaves. [Akin to LG. drippen, Dan. dryppe, from a noun. See Drop.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fancy 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, Fancy, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/fancy.html, id L02312.
Form and metre
Fancy is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDDC, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 29% 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 ABABCDDC hearA · nightB · nearA · zightB · backC · mindD · behindD · trackC
- 2 ABABCDDC rainA · dryB · plainA · skyB · wrungC · eyesD · skiesD · youngC
- 3 ABABCAAC eaeseA · playB · leaeseA · hayB · flightC · feaeceA · pleaeceA · lightC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In stillness we ha' words to hear, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' sheaepes to zee in darkest night, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' tongues a-lost can hail us near, | 8 | ········ |
| An' souls a-gone can smile in zight; | 8 | ········ |
| When Fancy now do wander back | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To years a-spent, an' bring to mind | 8 | ········ |
| Zome happy tide a-left behind | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In' weaesten life's slow-beaten track. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When feaeden leaves do drip wi' rain, | 8 | ········ |
| Our thoughts can ramble in the dry; | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| When Winter win' do zweep the plain | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| We still can have a zunny sky. | 8 | ········ |
| Vor though our limbs be winter-wrung, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| We still can zee, wi' Fancy's eyes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The brightest looks ov e'th an' skies, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That we did know when we wer young. | 8 | ········ |
| In pain our thoughts can pass to eaese, | 8 | ··/····· |
| In work our souls can be at play, | 8 | ··/····· |
| An' leaeve behind the chilly leaese | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vor warm-air'd meaeds o' new mow'd hay. | 8 | ········ |
| When we do vlee in Fancy's flight | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vrom daily ills avore our feaece, | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| An' linger in zome happy pleaece | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ov me'th an' smiles, an' warmth an' light. | 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.