I Got Two Vields
I got two vields, an' I don't ceaereWhat squire mid have a bigger sheaere.My little zummer-leaeze do stratchAll down the hangen, to a patchO' meaed between a hedge an' rankOv elems, an' a river bank.Where yollow clotes, in spreaden bedsO' floaten leaves, do lift their headsBy benden bulrushes an' zedgeA-swayen at the water's edge,Below the withy that do spreadAthirt the brook his grey-leav'd head.An' eltrot flowers, milky white,Do catch the slanten evenen light;An' in the meaeple boughs, alongThe hedge, do ring the blackbird's zong;Or in the day, a-vleen droughThe leafy trees, the whoa'se gookooDo zing to mowers that do zetTheir zives on end, an' stan' to whet.From my wold house among the treesA leaene do goo along the leaezeO' yollow gravel, down betweenTwo mossy banks vor ever green.An' trees, a-hangen overhead,Do hide a trinklen gully-bed,A-cover'd by a bridge vor hossOr man a-voot to come across.Zoo wi' my hwomestead, I don't ceaereWhat squire mid have a bigger sheaere!
Words in this poem
- bigger a.
- , compar. of Big.
- withy n.
- The osier willow (Salix viminalis). See Osier, n. (a). [OE. withe, wipi, AS. wi a willow, willow twig; akin to G. weide willow, OHG. wida, Icel. vi, a withy, Sw. vide a willow twig, Dan. vidie a willow, osier, Gr. vi]
- whet v. t.
- To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bol]
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- gully v. i.
- To flow noisily. Johnson.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
I Got Two Vields 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, I Got Two Vields, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/i-got-two-vields.html, id L02073.
Form and metre
I Got Two Vields is 30 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 87% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 57% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH--IIJJKKFF--AA ceaereA · sheaereA · stratchB · patchB · rankC · bankC · bedsD · headsD · zedgeE · edgeE · spreadF · headF · whiteG · lightG · alongH · zongH · drough · gookoo · zetI · whetI · treesJ · leaezeJ · betweenK · greenK · overheadF · bedF · hoss · across · ceaereA · sheaereA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I got two vields, an' I don't ceaere | 8 | ········ |
| What squire mid have a bigger sheaere. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My little zummer-leaeze do stratch | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| All down the hangen, to a patch | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O' meaed between a hedge an' rank | 8 | ········ |
| Ov elems, an' a river bank. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where yollow clotes, in spreaden beds | 8 | ········ |
| O' floaten leaves, do lift their heads | 8 | ········ |
| By benden bulrushes an' zedge | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| A-swayen at the water's edge, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Below the withy that do spread | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Athirt the brook his grey-leav'd head. | 8 | ········ |
| An' eltrot flowers, milky white, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Do catch the slanten evenen light; | 11 | ··········· |
| An' in the meaeple boughs, along | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The hedge, do ring the blackbird's zong; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or in the day, a-vleen drough | 7 | ······· |
| The leafy trees, the whoa'se gookoo | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Do zing to mowers that do zet | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Their zives on end, an' stan' to whet. | 8 | ········ |
| From my wold house among the trees | 8 | ········ |
| A leaene do goo along the leaeze | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| O' yollow gravel, down between | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Two mossy banks vor ever green. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' trees, a-hangen overhead, | 8 | ···/˘/˘/ |
| Do hide a trinklen gully-bed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-cover'd by a bridge vor hoss | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or man a-voot to come across. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Zoo wi' my hwomestead, I don't ceaere | 9 | ········· |
| What squire mid have a bigger sheaere! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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