Farmer's Sons
Ov all the chaps a-burnt so brownBy zunny hills an' hollors,Ov all the whindlen chaps in townWi' backs so weak as rollers,There's narn that's half so light o' heart,(I'll bet, if thou't zay "done," min,)An' narn that's half so strong an' smart,'S a merry farmer's son, min.
He'll fling a stwone so true's a shot,He'll jump so light's a cat;He'll heave a waight up that would squotA weakly fellow flat.He wont gi'e up when things don't fay,But turn em into fun, min;An' what's hard work to zome, is playAvore a farmer's son, min.
His bwony eaerm an' knuckly vist('Tis best to meaeke a friend o't)Would het a fellow, that's a-miss'd,Half backward wi' the wind o't.Wi' such a chap at hand, a maidWould never goo a nun, min;She'd have noo call to be afraidBezide a farmer's son, min.
He'll turn a vurrow, drough his langth,So straight as eyes can look,Or pitch all day, wi' half his strangth,At ev'ry pitch a pook;An' then goo vower mile, or vive,To vind his friends in fun, min,Vor maiden's be but dead alive'Ithout a farmer's son, min.
Zoo jay be in his heart so light,An' manly feaece so brown;An' health goo wi' en hwome at night,Vrom meaed, or wood, or down.O' rich an' poor, o' high an' low,When all's a-said an' done, min,The smartest chap that I do know,'S a worken farmer's son, min.
Words in this poem
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
- vower n.
- One who makes a vow. Bale.
- vive a.
- Lively; animated; forcible. [L. vivus: cf. F. vif. See Vivid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Farmer's Sons 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, Farmer's Sons, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/farmer-s-sons.html, id L02144.
Form and metre
Farmer's Sons is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. 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 7.4 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% 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 A-A-BCBC brownA · hollors · townA · rollers · heartB · minC · smartB · minC
- 2 -A-ABCBC shot · catA · squot · flatA · fayB · minC · playB · minC
- 3 ABABCDCD vistA · o'tB · miss'dA · o'tB · maidC · minD · afraidC · minD
- 4 ABABCDCD langthA · lookB · strangthA · pookB · viveC · minD · aliveC · minD
- 5 ABABCDCD lightA · brownB · nightA · downB · lowC · minD · knowC · minD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ov all the chaps a-burnt so brown | 8 | ········ |
| By zunny hills an' hollors, | 7 | ······· |
| Ov all the whindlen chaps in town | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' backs so weak as rollers, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| There's narn that's half so light o' heart, | 8 | ········ |
| (I'll bet, if thou't zay "done," min,) | 7 | ······· |
| An' narn that's half so strong an' smart, | 8 | ········ |
| 'S a merry farmer's son, min. | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| He'll fling a stwone so true's a shot, | 8 | ········ |
| He'll jump so light's a cat; | 6 | ······ |
| He'll heave a waight up that would squot | 8 | ········ |
| A weakly fellow flat. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| He wont gi'e up when things don't fay, | 8 | ········ |
| But turn em into fun, min; | 7 | ······· |
| An' what's hard work to zome, is play | 8 | ········ |
| Avore a farmer's son, min. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| His bwony eaerm an' knuckly vist | 8 | ········ |
| ('Tis best to meaeke a friend o't) | 7 | ······· |
| Would het a fellow, that's a-miss'd, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Half backward wi' the wind o't. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Wi' such a chap at hand, a maid | 8 | ········ |
| Would never goo a nun, min; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| She'd have noo call to be afraid | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Bezide a farmer's son, min. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| He'll turn a vurrow, drough his langth, | 8 | ········ |
| So straight as eyes can look, | 6 | ······ |
| Or pitch all day, wi' half his strangth, | 8 | ········ |
| At ev'ry pitch a pook; | 6 | ······ |
| An' then goo vower mile, or vive, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To vind his friends in fun, min, | 7 | ······· |
| Vor maiden's be but dead alive | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| 'Ithout a farmer's son, min. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Zoo jay be in his heart so light, | 8 | ········ |
| An' manly feaece so brown; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' health goo wi' en hwome at night, | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom meaed, or wood, or down. | 7 | ··˘···· |
| O' rich an' poor, o' high an' low, | 8 | ········ |
| When all's a-said an' done, min, | 7 | ······· |
| The smartest chap that I do know, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'S a worken farmer's son, min. | 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.