Jessie Lee
Above the timber's benden sh'ouds,The western wind did softly blow;An' up avore the knap, the cloudsDid ride as white as driven snow.Vrom west to east the clouds did zwimWi' wind that plied the elem's lim';Vrom west to east the stream did glide,A-sheenen wide, wi' winden brim.
How feaeir, I thought, avore the skyThe slowly-zwimmen clouds do look;How soft the win's a-streamen by;How bright do roll the weaevy brook:When there, a-passen on my right,A-waiken slow, an' treaden light,Young Jessie Lee come by, an' thereTook all my ceaere, an' all my zight.
Vor lovely wer the looks her feaeceHeld up avore the western sky:An' comely wer the steps her peaeceDid meaeke a-walken slowly by:But I went east, wi' beaeten breast,Wi' wind, an' cloud, an' brook, vor rest,Wi' rest a-lost, vor Jessie goneSo lovely on, toward the west.
Blow on, O winds, athirt the hill;Zwim on, O clouds; O waters vall,Down maeshy rocks, vrom mill to mill;I now can overlook ye all.But roll, O zun, an' bring to meMy day, if such a day there be,When zome dear path to my abodeShall be the road o' Jessie Lee.
Words in this poem
- knap v. t.
- To bite; to bite off; to break short. [D. knappen to chew, bite, crack, take hold of; prob. of imitative origin.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Jessie Lee 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, Jessie Lee, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/jessie-lee.html, id L02219.
Form and metre
Jessie Lee is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 28% 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 ABABCC-C sh'oudsA · blowB · cloudsA · snowB · zwimC · limC · glide · brimC
- 2 ABABCC-C skyA · lookB · byA · brookB · rightC · lightC · there · zightC
- 3 ABABCC-C feaeceA · skyB · peaeceA · byB · breastC · restC · gone · westC
- 4 A-A-BB-B hillA · vall · millA · all · meB · beB · abode · leeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Above the timber's benden sh'ouds, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The western wind did softly blow; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' up avore the knap, the clouds | 8 | ········ |
| Did ride as white as driven snow. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vrom west to east the clouds did zwim | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' wind that plied the elem's lim'; | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom west to east the stream did glide, | 8 | ········ |
| A-sheenen wide, wi' winden brim. | 8 | ········ |
| How feaeir, I thought, avore the sky | 8 | ········ |
| The slowly-zwimmen clouds do look; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| How soft the win's a-streamen by; | 8 | ········ |
| How bright do roll the weaevy brook: | 8 | ········ |
| When there, a-passen on my right, | 8 | ········ |
| A-waiken slow, an' treaden light, | 8 | ········ |
| Young Jessie Lee come by, an' there | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Took all my ceaere, an' all my zight. | 8 | ········ |
| Vor lovely wer the looks her feaece | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Held up avore the western sky: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' comely wer the steps her peaece | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did meaeke a-walken slowly by: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But I went east, wi' beaeten breast, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' wind, an' cloud, an' brook, vor rest, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' rest a-lost, vor Jessie gone | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So lovely on, toward the west. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Blow on, O winds, athirt the hill; | 8 | ········ |
| Zwim on, O clouds; O waters vall, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Down maeshy rocks, vrom mill to mill; | 8 | ········ |
| I now can overlook ye all. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But roll, O zun, an' bring to me | 8 | ········ |
| My day, if such a day there be, | 8 | ········ |
| When zome dear path to my abode | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Shall be the road o' Jessie Lee. | 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.