Herrenston
Zoo then the leaedy an' the squier,At Chris'mas, gather'd girt an' small,Vor me'th, avore their roaren vier,An! roun' their bwoard, 'ithin the hall;An' there, in glitt'ren rows, betweenThe roun'-rimm'd pleaetes, our knives did sheen,Wi' frothy eaele, an' cup an' can,Vor maid an' man, at Herrenston.
An' there the jeints o' beef did stand,Lik' cliffs o' rock, in goodly row;Where woone mid quarry till his handDid tire, an' meaeke but little show;An' after we'd a-took our seat,An' greaece had been a-zaid vor meat,We zet to work, an' zoo begunOur feaest an' fun at Herrenston.
An' mothers there, bezide the bwoards,Wi' little childern in their laps,Did stoop, wi' loven looks an' words,An' veed em up wi' bits an' draps;An' smilen husbands went in questO' what their wives did like the best;An' you'd ha' zeed a happy zight,Thik merry night, at Herrenston.
An' then the band, wi' each his leafO' notes, above us at the zide,Play'd up the praise ov England's beefAn' vill'd our hearts wi' English pride;An' leafy chains o' garlands hung,Wi' dazzlen stripes o' flags, that swungAbove us, in a bleaeze o' light,Thik happy night, at Herrenston.
An' then the clerk, avore the vier,Begun to lead, wi' smilen feaece,A carol, wi' the Monkton quire,That rung drough all the crowded pleaece.An' dins' o' words an' laughter brokeIn merry peals drough clouds o' smoke;Vor hardly wer there woone that spoke,But pass'd a joke, at Herrenston.
Then man an' maid stood up by twos,In rows, drough passage, out to door,An' gaily beaet, wi' nimble shoes,A dance upon the stwonen floor.But who is worthy vor to tell,If she that then did bear the bell,Wer woone o' Monkton, or o' Ceaeme,Or zome sweet neaeme ov Herrenston.
Zoo peace betide the girt vo'k's land,When they can stoop, wi' kindly smile,An' teaeke a poor man by the hand,An' cheer en in his daily tweil.An' oh! mid He that's vur aboveThe highest here, reward their love,An' gi'e their happy souls, drough greaece,A higher pleaece than Herrenston.
Words in this poem
- squier n.
- A square. See 1st Squire.
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- clerk n.
- A clergyman or ecclesiastic. [Either OF. clerc, fr. L. clericus a priest, or AS. clerc, cleric, clerk, priest, fr. L. clericus, fr. Gr. Clergy.]
- carol v. t.
- To praise or celebrate in song.
- quire v. i.
- To sing in concert.
- rung n.
- A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Herrenston 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, Herrenston, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/herrenston.html, id L02235.
Form and metre
Herrenston is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% 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-ABB-- squier · smallA · vier · hallA · betweenB · sheenB · can · herrenston
- 2 ABABCC-- standA · rowB · handA · showB · seatC · meatC · begun · herrenston
- 3 -A-ABB-- bwoards · lapsA · words · drapsA · questB · bestB · zight · herrenston
- 4 ABABCC-- leafA · zideB · beefA · prideB · hungC · swungC · light · herrenston
- 5 -A-ABBB- vier · feaeceA · quire · pleaeceA · brokeB · smokeB · spokeB · herrenston
- 6 ABABCC-- twosA · doorB · shoesA · floorB · tellC · bellC · ceaeme · herrenston
- 7 ABABCC-- landA · smileB · handA · tweilB · aboveC · loveC · greaece · herrenston
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zoo then the leaedy an' the squier, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| At Chris'mas, gather'd girt an' small, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Vor me'th, avore their roaren vier, | 8 | ········ |
| An! roun' their bwoard, 'ithin the hall; | 8 | ········ |
| An' there, in glitt'ren rows, between | 8 | ········ |
| The roun'-rimm'd pleaetes, our knives did sheen, | 8 | ····/··· |
| Wi' frothy eaele, an' cup an' can, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Vor maid an' man, at Herrenston. | 8 | ········ |
| An' there the jeints o' beef did stand, | 8 | ········ |
| Lik' cliffs o' rock, in goodly row; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where woone mid quarry till his hand | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Did tire, an' meaeke but little show; | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| An' after we'd a-took our seat, | 8 | ······/· |
| An' greaece had been a-zaid vor meat, | 8 | ········ |
| We zet to work, an' zoo begun | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Our feaest an' fun at Herrenston. | 8 | /······· |
| An' mothers there, bezide the bwoards, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wi' little childern in their laps, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did stoop, wi' loven looks an' words, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' veed em up wi' bits an' draps; | 8 | ········ |
| An' smilen husbands went in quest | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O' what their wives did like the best; | 8 | ········ |
| An' you'd ha' zeed a happy zight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thik merry night, at Herrenston. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' then the band, wi' each his leaf | 8 | ········ |
| O' notes, above us at the zide, | 8 | ········ |
| Play'd up the praise ov England's beef | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' vill'd our hearts wi' English pride; | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| An' leafy chains o' garlands hung, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Wi' dazzlen stripes o' flags, that swung | 8 | ········ |
| Above us, in a bleaeze o' light, | 8 | ········ |
| Thik happy night, at Herrenston. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' then the clerk, avore the vier, | 8 | ········ |
| Begun to lead, wi' smilen feaece, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| A carol, wi' the Monkton quire, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That rung drough all the crowded pleaece. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' dins' o' words an' laughter broke | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In merry peals drough clouds o' smoke; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Vor hardly wer there woone that spoke, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But pass'd a joke, at Herrenston. | 8 | ········ |
| Then man an' maid stood up by twos, | 8 | ········ |
| In rows, drough passage, out to door, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' gaily beaet, wi' nimble shoes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A dance upon the stwonen floor. | 8 | ········ |
| But who is worthy vor to tell, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| If she that then did bear the bell, | 8 | ········ |
| Wer woone o' Monkton, or o' Ceaeme, | 8 | ········ |
| Or zome sweet neaeme ov Herrenston. | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo peace betide the girt vo'k's land, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| When they can stoop, wi' kindly smile, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' teaeke a poor man by the hand, | 8 | ········ |
| An' cheer en in his daily tweil. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' oh! mid He that's vur above | 8 | ········ |
| The highest here, reward their love, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| An' gi'e their happy souls, drough greaece, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A higher pleaece than Herrenston. | 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.