Nanny Gill
Ah! they wer times, when Nanny GillWent so'jeren ageaenst her will,Back when the King come down to viewHis ho'se an' voot, in red an' blue,An' they did march in rows,An' wheel in lines an' bows,Below the King's own nose;An' guns did pwoint, an' swords did gleaere,A-fighten foes that werden there.
Poor Nanny Gill did goo to zellIn town her glitt'ren macarel,A-pack'd wi' ceaere, in even lots,A-ho'seback in a peaeir o' pots.An' zoo when she did rideBetween her panniers wide,Red-cloked in all her pride,Why, who but she, an' who but brokeThe road avore her scarlet cloke!
But Nanny's ho'se that she did ride,Woonce carr'd a sword ageaen his zide,An' had, to prick en into rank,A so'jer's spurs ageaen his flank;An' zoo, when he got zightO' swords a-gleamen bright,An' men agwain to fight,He set his eyes athirt the ground,An' prick'd his ears to catch the sound.
Then Nanny gi'ed his zide a kick,An' het en wi' her limber stick;But suddenly a horn did sound,An' zend the ho'semen on vull bound;An' her ho'se at the zightWent after em, vull flight,Wi' Nanny in a fright,A-pullen, wi' a scream an' grin,Her wold brown rains to hold en in.
But no! he went away vull bound,As vast as he could tear the ground,An' took, in line, a so'jer's pleaece,Vor Nanny's cloke an' frighten'd feaece;While vo'k did laugh an' shoutTo zee her cloke stream out,As she did wheel about,A-cryen, "Oh! la! dear!" in fright,The while her ho'se did play sham fight.
Words in this poem
- nanny n.
- A diminutive of Ann or Anne, the proper name. Nanny goat, a female goat.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Nanny Gill 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, Nanny Gill, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/nanny-gill.html, id L02252.
Form and metre
Nanny Gill is 45 lines in 5 stanzas of 9 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCCDD, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 18% 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 AABBCCC-- gillA · willA · viewB · blueB · rowsC · bowsC · noseC · gleaere · there
- 2 AABBCCCDD zellA · macarelA · lotsB · potsB · rideC · wideC · prideC · brokeD · clokeD
- 3 AABBCCCDD rideA · zideA · rankB · flankB · zightC · brightC · fightC · groundD · soundD
- 4 AABBCCCDD kickA · stickA · soundB · boundB · zightC · flightC · frightC · grinD · inD
- 5 AABBCCCDD boundA · groundA · pleaeceB · feaeceB · shoutC · outC · aboutC · frightD · fightD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah! they wer times, when Nanny Gill | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Went so'jeren ageaenst her will, | 8 | ········ |
| Back when the King come down to view | 8 | ········ |
| His ho'se an' voot, in red an' blue, | 8 | ········ |
| An' they did march in rows, | 6 | ······ |
| An' wheel in lines an' bows, | 6 | ······ |
| Below the King's own nose; | 6 | ······ |
| An' guns did pwoint, an' swords did gleaere, | 8 | ········ |
| A-fighten foes that werden there. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Poor Nanny Gill did goo to zell | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In town her glitt'ren macarel, | 8 | ········ |
| A-pack'd wi' ceaere, in even lots, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-ho'seback in a peaeir o' pots. | 9 | ········· |
| An' zoo when she did ride | 6 | ······ |
| Between her panniers wide, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Red-cloked in all her pride, | 7 | ··˘···· |
| Why, who but she, an' who but broke | 8 | ········ |
| The road avore her scarlet cloke! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But Nanny's ho'se that she did ride, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Woonce carr'd a sword ageaen his zide, | 8 | ········ |
| An' had, to prick en into rank, | 8 | ········ |
| A so'jer's spurs ageaen his flank; | 8 | ········ |
| An' zoo, when he got zight | 6 | ······ |
| O' swords a-gleamen bright, | 6 | ······ |
| An' men agwain to fight, | 6 | ······ |
| He set his eyes athirt the ground, | 8 | ········ |
| An' prick'd his ears to catch the sound. | 8 | ········ |
| Then Nanny gi'ed his zide a kick, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' het en wi' her limber stick; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But suddenly a horn did sound, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| An' zend the ho'semen on vull bound; | 9 | ········· |
| An' her ho'se at the zight | 6 | ······ |
| Went after em, vull flight, | 6 | ······ |
| Wi' Nanny in a fright, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A-pullen, wi' a scream an' grin, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her wold brown rains to hold en in. | 8 | ········ |
| But no! he went away vull bound, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| As vast as he could tear the ground, | 8 | ········ |
| An' took, in line, a so'jer's pleaece, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor Nanny's cloke an' frighten'd feaece; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| While vo'k did laugh an' shout | 6 | ······ |
| To zee her cloke stream out, | 6 | ······ |
| As she did wheel about, | 6 | ······ |
| A-cryen, "Oh! la! dear!" in fright, | 7 | ······· |
| The while her ho'se did play sham fight. | 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.