Lwonesomeness
As I do zew, wi' nimble hand,In here avore the window's light,How still do all the housegear standAround my lwonesome zight.How still do all the housegear standSince Willie now 've a-left the land.
The rwose-tree's window-sheaeden bowDo hang in leaf, an' win'-blow'd flow'rs,Avore my lwonesome eyes do showTheaese bright November hours.Avore my lwonesome eyes do showWi' nwone but I to zee em blow.
The sheaedes o' leafy buds, avoreThe peaenes, do sheaeke upon the glass,An' stir in light upon the vloor,Where now vew veet do pass,An' stir in light upon the vloor,Where there's a-stirren nothen mwore.
This win' mid dreve upon the main,My brother's ship, a-plowen foam,But not bring mother, cwold, nor rain,At her now happy hwome.But not bring mother, cwold, nor rain,Where she is out o' pain.
Zoo now that I'm a-mwopen dumb,A-keepen father's house, do youCome of'en wi' your work vrom hwome,Vor company. Now do.Come of'en wi' your work vrom hwome,Up here a-while. Do come.
About this text
Lwonesomeness 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, Lwonesomeness, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/lwonesomeness.html, id L02333.
Form and metre
Lwonesomeness is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABAA, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% 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 ABABAA handA · lightB · standA · zightB · standA · landA
- 2 A-A-AA bowA · flow'rs · showA · hours · showA · blowA
- 3 ABCBCA avoreA · glassB · vloorC · passB · vloorC · mworeA
- 4 ABABAA mainA · foamB · rainA · hwomeB · rainA · painA
- 5 ABCBCA dumbA · youB · hwomeC · doB · hwomeC · comeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As I do zew, wi' nimble hand, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In here avore the window's light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| How still do all the housegear stand | 9 | ········· |
| Around my lwonesome zight. | 7 | ······· |
| How still do all the housegear stand | 9 | ········· |
| Since Willie now 've a-left the land. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The rwose-tree's window-sheaeden bow | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Do hang in leaf, an' win'-blow'd flow'rs, | 8 | ········ |
| Avore my lwonesome eyes do show | 9 | ········· |
| Theaese bright November hours. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Avore my lwonesome eyes do show | 9 | ········· |
| Wi' nwone but I to zee em blow. | 8 | ········ |
| The sheaedes o' leafy buds, avore | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The peaenes, do sheaeke upon the glass, | 8 | ········ |
| An' stir in light upon the vloor, | 8 | ········ |
| Where now vew veet do pass, | 6 | ······ |
| An' stir in light upon the vloor, | 8 | ········ |
| Where there's a-stirren nothen mwore. | 8 | ········ |
| This win' mid dreve upon the main, | 8 | ········ |
| My brother's ship, a-plowen foam, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But not bring mother, cwold, nor rain, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| At her now happy hwome. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But not bring mother, cwold, nor rain, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where she is out o' pain. | 6 | ······ |
| Zoo now that I'm a-mwopen dumb, | 8 | ········ |
| A-keepen father's house, do you | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Come of'en wi' your work vrom hwome, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor company. Now do. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Come of'en wi' your work vrom hwome, | 8 | ········ |
| Up here a-while. Do come. | 6 | ······ |
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.