Lindenore
At Lindenore upon the steep,Bezide the trees a-reachen high,The while their lower limbs do zweepThe river-stream a-flowen by;By graegle bells in beds o' blue,Below the tree-stems in the lew,Calm air do vind the rwose-bound door,Ov Ellen Dare o' Lindenore.
An' there noo foam do hiss avoreSwift bwoats, wi' water-plowen keels,An' there noo broad high-road's a-woreBy vur-brought trav'lers' cracklen wheels;Noo crowd's a-passen to and fro,Upon the bridge's high-sprung bow:An' vew but I do seek the doorOv Ellen Dare o' Lindenore.
Vor there the town, wi' zun-bright walls,Do sheen vur off, by hills o' grey,An' town-vo'k ha' but seldom callsO' business there, from day to day:But Ellen didden leaeve her rufTo be admir'd, an' that's enough--Vor I've a-vound 'ithin her door,Feaeir Ellen Dare o' Lindenore.
Words in this poem
- keels n.
- Ninepins. See Kayles.
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lindenore 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, Lindenore, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/lindenore.html, id L02292.
Form and metre
Lindenore is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDD, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 25% 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 ABABCCDD steepA · highB · zweepA · byB · blueC · lewC · doorD · lindenoreD
- 2 ABABCCAA avoreA · keelsB · woreA · wheelsB · froC · bowC · doorA · lindenoreA
- 3 ABABCCDD wallsA · greyB · callsA · dayB · rufC · enoughC · doorD · lindenoreD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| At Lindenore upon the steep, | 8 | ········ |
| Bezide the trees a-reachen high, | 8 | ········ |
| The while their lower limbs do zweep | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The river-stream a-flowen by; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By graegle bells in beds o' blue, | 8 | ········ |
| Below the tree-stems in the lew, | 8 | ········ |
| Calm air do vind the rwose-bound door, | 8 | ········ |
| Ov Ellen Dare o' Lindenore. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' there noo foam do hiss avore | 8 | ········ |
| Swift bwoats, wi' water-plowen keels, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' there noo broad high-road's a-wore | 8 | ········ |
| By vur-brought trav'lers' cracklen wheels; | 8 | ········ |
| Noo crowd's a-passen to and fro, | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the bridge's high-sprung bow: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' vew but I do seek the door | 8 | ········ |
| Ov Ellen Dare o' Lindenore. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Vor there the town, wi' zun-bright walls, | 8 | ········ |
| Do sheen vur off, by hills o' grey, | 8 | ········ |
| An' town-vo'k ha' but seldom calls | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O' business there, from day to day: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But Ellen didden leaeve her ruf | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To be admir'd, an' that's enough-- | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Vor I've a-vound 'ithin her door, | 8 | ········ |
| Feaeir Ellen Dare o' Lindenore. | 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.