Linda Deaene
The bright-tunn'd house, a-risen proud,Stood high avore a zummer cloud,An' windy sheaedes o' tow'rs did vallUpon the many-window'd wall;An' on the grassy terrace, brightWi' white-bloom'd zummer's deaisy beds,An' snow-white lilies nodden heads,Sweet Linda Deaene did walk in white;But ah! avore too high a door,Wer Linda Deaene ov Ellendon.
When sparklen brooks an' grassy ground,By keen-air'd Winter's vrost wer bound,An' star-bright snow did streak the formsO' beaere-lim'd trees in darksome storms,Sweet Linda Deaene did lightly glide,Wi' snow-white robe an' rwosy feaece,Upon the smooth-vloor'd hall, to treaeceThe merry dance o' Chris'mas tide;But oh! not mine be balls so fineAs Linda Deaene's at Ellendon.
Sweet Linda Deaene do match the skiesWi' sheenen blue o' glisnen eyes,An' feairest blossoms do but showHer forehead's white, an' feaece's glow;But there's a winsome jay above,The brightest hues ov e'th an' skies.The dearest zight o' many eyes,Would be the smile o' Linda's love;But high above my lowly loveIs Linda Deaene ov Ellendon.
Words in this poem
- darksome a.
- Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless.
- winsome a.
- Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. [AS. wynsum, fr. wynn joy; akin to OS. wunnia, OHG. wunna, wunni, G. wonne, Goth. wunan to rejoice (in unwunands sad), AS. wunian to dwell. Win, v. t., Wont, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Linda Deaene 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, Linda Deaene, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/linda-deaene.html, id L02286.
Form and metre
Linda Deaene is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 27% 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 AA--BCCB-- proudA · cloudA · vall · wall · brightB · bedsC · headsC · whiteB · door · ellendon
- 2 AABBCDDC-- groundA · boundA · formsB · stormsB · glideC · feaeceD · treaeceD · tideC · fine · ellendon
- 3 AABBCAACC- skiesA · eyesA · showB · glowB · aboveC · skiesA · eyesA · loveC · loveC · ellendon
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The bright-tunn'd house, a-risen proud, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Stood high avore a zummer cloud, | 8 | ········ |
| An' windy sheaedes o' tow'rs did vall | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon the many-window'd wall; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An' on the grassy terrace, bright | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Wi' white-bloom'd zummer's deaisy beds, | 8 | ········ |
| An' snow-white lilies nodden heads, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Sweet Linda Deaene did walk in white; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But ah! avore too high a door, | 8 | ········ |
| Wer Linda Deaene ov Ellendon. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When sparklen brooks an' grassy ground, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By keen-air'd Winter's vrost wer bound, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' star-bright snow did streak the forms | 8 | ········ |
| O' beaere-lim'd trees in darksome storms, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Sweet Linda Deaene did lightly glide, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Wi' snow-white robe an' rwosy feaece, | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the smooth-vloor'd hall, to treaece | 8 | ········ |
| The merry dance o' Chris'mas tide; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But oh! not mine be balls so fine | 8 | ········ |
| As Linda Deaene's at Ellendon. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Sweet Linda Deaene do match the skies | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wi' sheenen blue o' glisnen eyes, | 8 | ········ |
| An' feairest blossoms do but show | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Her forehead's white, an' feaece's glow; | 8 | ·/······ |
| But there's a winsome jay above, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The brightest hues ov e'th an' skies. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The dearest zight o' many eyes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Would be the smile o' Linda's love; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But high above my lowly love | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is Linda Deaene ov Ellendon. | 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.