Moonlight on the Door
A-swayen slow, the poplar's head,Above the slopen thatch did ply,The while the midnight moon did shedHis light below the spangled sky.An' there the road did reach avoreThe hatch, all vootless down the hill;An' hands, a-tired by day, wer still,Wi' moonlight on the door.
A-boomen deep, did slowly soundThe bell, a-tellen middle night;The while the quiv'ren ivy, roundThe tree, did sheaeke in softest light.But vootless wer the stwone avoreThe house where I, the maidens guest,At evenen, woonce did zit at restBy moonlight on the door.
Though till the dawn, where night's a-meaedeThe day, the laughen crowds be gay,Let evenen zink wi' quiet sheaede,Where I do hold my little sway.An' childern dear to my heart's core,A-sleep wi' little heaven breast,That pank'd by day in play, do restWi' moonlight on the door.
But still 'tis good, woonce now an' thenTo rove where moonlight on the landDo show in vain, vor heedless men,The road, the vield, the work in hand.When curtains be a-hung avoreThe glitt'ren windows, snowy white,An' vine-leaf sheaedes do sheaeke in lightO' moonlight on the door.
Words in this poem
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Moonlight on the Door 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, Moonlight on the Door, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/moonlight-on-the-door.html, id L02253.
Form and metre
Moonlight on the Door is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDDC. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 38% 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 ABABCDDC headA · plyB · shedA · skyB · avoreC · hillD · stillD · doorC
- 2 ABABCDDC soundA · nightB · roundA · lightB · avoreC · guestD · restD · doorC
- 3 ABABCDDC meaedeA · gayB · sheaedeA · swayB · coreC · breastD · restD · doorC
- 4 ABABCDDC thenA · landB · menA · handB · avoreC · whiteD · lightD · doorC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A-swayen slow, the poplar's head, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Above the slopen thatch did ply, | 8 | ········ |
| The while the midnight moon did shed | 8 | ···/···· |
| His light below the spangled sky. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' there the road did reach avore | 8 | ········ |
| The hatch, all vootless down the hill; | 8 | ········ |
| An' hands, a-tired by day, wer still, | 8 | ···/···· |
| Wi' moonlight on the door. | 6 | ·/···· |
| A-boomen deep, did slowly sound | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The bell, a-tellen middle night; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The while the quiv'ren ivy, round | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The tree, did sheaeke in softest light. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But vootless wer the stwone avore | 8 | ········ |
| The house where I, the maidens guest, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| At evenen, woonce did zit at rest | 9 | ········· |
| By moonlight on the door. | 6 | ·/···· |
| Though till the dawn, where night's a-meaede | 8 | ········ |
| The day, the laughen crowds be gay, | 8 | ········ |
| Let evenen zink wi' quiet sheaede, | 8 | ······/· |
| Where I do hold my little sway. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' childern dear to my heart's core, | 8 | ········ |
| A-sleep wi' little heaven breast, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That pank'd by day in play, do rest | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' moonlight on the door. | 6 | ·/···· |
| But still 'tis good, woonce now an' then | 8 | ········ |
| To rove where moonlight on the land | 8 | ···/···· |
| Do show in vain, vor heedless men, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The road, the vield, the work in hand. | 8 | ········ |
| When curtains be a-hung avore | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The glitt'ren windows, snowy white, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An' vine-leaf sheaedes do sheaeke in light | 8 | ········ |
| O' moonlight on the door. | 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.