Hay-Meaken
'Tis merry ov a zummer's day,Where vo'k be out a-meaeken hay;Where men an' women, in a string,Do ted or turn the grass, an' zing,Wi' cheemen vaices, merry zongs,A-tossen o' their sheenen prongsWi' eaerms a-zwangen left an' right,In colour'd gowns an' shirtsleeves white;Or, wider spread, a reaeken roundThe rwosy hedges o' the ground,Where Sam do zee the speckled sneaeke,An' try to kill en wi' his reaeke;An' Poll do jump about an' squall,To zee the twisten slooworm crawl.
'Tis merry where a gay-tongued lotOv hay-meaekers be all a-squot,On lightly-russlen hay, a-spreadBelow an elem's lofty head,To rest their weary limbs an' munchTheir bit o' dinner, or their nunch;Where teethy reaekes do lie all roundBy picks a-stuck up into ground.An' wi' their vittles in their laps,An' in their hornen cups their drapsO' cider sweet, or frothy eaele,Their tongues do run wi' joke an' teaele.
An' when the zun, so low an' red,Do sheen above the leafy headO' zome broad tree, a-rizen highAvore the vi'ry western sky,'Tis merry where all han's do gooAthirt the groun', by two an' two,A-reaeken, over humps an' hollors,The russlen grass up into rollers.An' woone do row it into line,An' woone do clwose it up behine;An' after them the little bwoysDo stride an' fling their eaerms all woys,Wi' busy picks, an' proud young looksA-meaeken up their tiny pooks.An' zoo 'tis merry out amongThe vo'k in hay-vield all day long.
Words in this poem
- crawl v. i.
- To move slowly by drawing the body along the ground, as a worm; to move slowly on hands and kness; to creep. [Dan. kravle, or Icel. krafla, to paw, scrabble with the hands; akin to Sw. kr to crawl; cf. LG. krabbeln, D. krabbelen to scratch.]
- munch v. t.
- To chew with a grinding, crunching sound, as a beast chews provender; to chew deliberately or in large mouthfuls. [Formerly written also maunch and mounch.] [Prob. akin to mumble: cf. also F. manger to eat (cf. Mange), and mâcher to cher (cf. Masticate). See Mumble.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- stride v. t.
- To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Hay-Meaken 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, Hay-Meaken, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/hay-meaken.html, id L20539.
Form and metre
Hay-Meaken is 42 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 86% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG dayA · hayA · stringB · zingB · zongsC · prongsC · rightD · whiteD · roundE · groundE · sneaekeF · reaekeF · squallG · crawlG
- 2 --AABBCCDDEE lot · squot · spreadA · headA · munchB · nunchB · roundC · groundC · lapsD · drapsD · eaeleE · teaeleE
- 3 AABBCC--DDEEFF-- redA · headA · highB · skyB · gooC · twoC · hollors · rollers · lineD · behineD · bwoysE · woysE · looksF · pooksF · among · long
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Tis merry ov a zummer's day, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where vo'k be out a-meaeken hay; | 8 | ········ |
| Where men an' women, in a string, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Do ted or turn the grass, an' zing, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' cheemen vaices, merry zongs, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-tossen o' their sheenen prongs | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' eaerms a-zwangen left an' right, | 8 | ········ |
| In colour'd gowns an' shirtsleeves white; | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Or, wider spread, a reaeken round | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The rwosy hedges o' the ground, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where Sam do zee the speckled sneaeke, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' try to kill en wi' his reaeke; | 8 | ········ |
| An' Poll do jump about an' squall, | 8 | ········ |
| To zee the twisten slooworm crawl. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis merry where a gay-tongued lot | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ov hay-meaekers be all a-squot, | 8 | ········ |
| On lightly-russlen hay, a-spread | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Below an elem's lofty head, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To rest their weary limbs an' munch | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Their bit o' dinner, or their nunch; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where teethy reaekes do lie all round | 8 | ········ |
| By picks a-stuck up into ground. | 8 | ········ |
| An' wi' their vittles in their laps, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' in their hornen cups their draps | 8 | ········ |
| O' cider sweet, or frothy eaele, | 8 | ·/··/˘·· |
| Their tongues do run wi' joke an' teaele. | 9 | ········· |
| An' when the zun, so low an' red, | 8 | ········ |
| Do sheen above the leafy head | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O' zome broad tree, a-rizen high | 8 | ········ |
| Avore the vi'ry western sky, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Tis merry where all han's do goo | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Athirt the groun', by two an' two, | 8 | ········ |
| A-reaeken, over humps an' hollors, | 8 | ········ |
| The russlen grass up into rollers. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| An' woone do row it into line, | 8 | ········ |
| An' woone do clwose it up behine; | 8 | ········ |
| An' after them the little bwoys | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Do stride an' fling their eaerms all woys, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' busy picks, an' proud young looks | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A-meaeken up their tiny pooks. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' zoo 'tis merry out among | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The vo'k in hay-vield all day long. | 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.