Hope in Spring
In happy times a while agoo,My lively hope, that's now a-goneDid stir my heart the whole year drough,But mwost when green-bough'd spring come on;When I did rove, wi' litty veet,Drough deaeisy-beds so white's a sheet,But still avore I us'd to meetThe blushen cheaeks that bloom'd vor me!
An' afterward, in lightsome youth,When zummer wer a-comen on,An' all the trees wer white wi' blooth,An' dippen zwallows skimm'd the pon';Sweet hope did vill my heart wi' jay,An' tell me, though thik spring wer gay,There still would come a brighter May,Wi' blushen cheaeks to bloom vor me!
An' when, at last, the time come roun',An' brought a lofty zun to sheenUpon my smilen Fanny, downDrough n[=e]sh young leaves o' yollow green;How charmen wer the het that glow'd,How charmen wer the sheaede a-drow'd,How charmen wer the win' that blow'dUpon her cheaeks that bloom'd vor me!
But hardly did they times begin,Avore I vound em short to stay:An' year by year do now come in,To peaert me wider vrom my jay,Vor what's to meet, or what's to peaert,Wi' maidens kind, or maidens smart,When hope's noo longer in the heart,An' cheaeks noo mwore do bloom vor me!
But there's a worold still to blessThe good, where zickness never rose;An' there's a year that's winterless,Where glassy waters never vroze;An' there, if true but e'thly loveDo seem noo sin to God above,'S a smilen still my harmless dove,So feaeir as when she bloom'd vor me!
Words in this poem
- lightsome a.
- Having light; lighted; not dark or gloomy; bright.
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
- vill n.
- A small collection of houses; a village. [OF. ville, vile, a village, F. ville a town, city. See Villa.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Hope in Spring 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, Hope in Spring, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/hope-in-spring.html, id L02051.
Form and metre
Hope in Spring is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 18% 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-ABBB- agoo · goneA · drough · onA · veetB · sheetB · meetB · me
- 2 ABABCCC- youthA · onB · bloothA · ponB · jayC · gayC · mayC · me
- 3 -A-ABBB- roun · sheenA · down · greenA · glow'dB · drow'dB · blow'dB · me
- 4 ABABCCC- beginA · stayB · inA · jayB · peaertC · smartC · heartC · me
- 5 ABABCCC- blessA · roseB · winterlessA · vrozeB · loveC · aboveC · doveC · me
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 happy times a while agoo, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My lively hope, that's now a-gone | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did stir my heart the whole year drough, | 8 | ········ |
| But mwost when green-bough'd spring come on; | 8 | ········ |
| When I did rove, wi' litty veet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Drough deaeisy-beds so white's a sheet, | 8 | ········ |
| But still avore I us'd to meet | 8 | ········ |
| The blushen cheaeks that bloom'd vor me! | 8 | ········ |
| An' afterward, in lightsome youth, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| When zummer wer a-comen on, | 8 | ········ |
| An' all the trees wer white wi' blooth, | 8 | ········ |
| An' dippen zwallows skimm'd the pon'; | 8 | ········ |
| Sweet hope did vill my heart wi' jay, | 8 | ········ |
| An' tell me, though thik spring wer gay, | 8 | ········ |
| There still would come a brighter May, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wi' blushen cheaeks to bloom vor me! | 8 | ········ |
| An' when, at last, the time come roun', | 8 | ········ |
| An' brought a lofty zun to sheen | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon my smilen Fanny, down | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Drough n[=e]sh young leaves o' yollow green; | 11 | ···//······ |
| How charmen wer the het that glow'd, | 8 | ········ |
| How charmen wer the sheaede a-drow'd, | 8 | ········ |
| How charmen wer the win' that blow'd | 8 | ········ |
| Upon her cheaeks that bloom'd vor me! | 8 | ········ |
| But hardly did they times begin, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Avore I vound em short to stay: | 8 | ········ |
| An' year by year do now come in, | 8 | ········ |
| To peaert me wider vrom my jay, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Vor what's to meet, or what's to peaert, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' maidens kind, or maidens smart, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| When hope's noo longer in the heart, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' cheaeks noo mwore do bloom vor me! | 8 | ········ |
| But there's a worold still to bless | 8 | ········ |
| The good, where zickness never rose; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' there's a year that's winterless, | 8 | ········ |
| Where glassy waters never vroze; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| An' there, if true but e'thly love | 8 | ········ |
| Do seem noo sin to God above, | 8 | ········ |
| 'S a smilen still my harmless dove, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| So feaeir as when she bloom'd vor me! | 8 | ········ |
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