Nanny's Cow
Ov all the cows, among the restWer woone that Nanny lik'd the best;An' after milken us'd to stan'A-veeden o' her, vrom her han',Wi' grass or hay; an' she know'd Ann,An' in the evenen she did comeThe vu'st, a-beaeten uep roun' hwomeVor Ann to come an' milk her.
Her back wer hollor as a bow,Her lags wer short, her body low;Her head wer small, her horns turn'd inAvore Her feaece so sharp's a pin:Her eyes wer vull, her ears wer thin,An' she wer red vrom head to tail,An' didden start nor kick the pail,When Nanny zot to milk her.
But losses zoon begun to vallOn Nanny's father, that wi' allHis tweil he voun', wi' breaken heart,That he mus' leaeve his ground, an' peaertWi' all his beaest an' hoss an' cart;An', what did touch en mwost, to zellThe red cow Nanny lik'd so well,An' lik'd vor her to milk her.
Zalt tears did run vrom Nanny's eyes,To hear her restless father's sighs.But as vor me, she mid be sureI wont vorzeaeke her now she's poor,Vor I do love her mwore an' mwore;An' if I can but get a cowAn' parrock, I'll vulvil my vow,An' she shall come an' milk her.
Words in this poem
- nanny n.
- A diminutive of Ann or Anne, the proper name. Nanny goat, a female goat.
- milken a.
- Consisting of milk.
- parrock n.
- A croft, or small field; a paddock. [AS. pearruc, pearroc. See Park.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Nanny's Cow 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's Cow, 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-s-cow.html, id L02132.
Form and metre
Nanny's Cow is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBB--- restA · bestA · stanB · hanB · annB · come · hwome · her
- 2 AABBBCC- bowA · lowA · inB · pinB · thinB · tailC · pailC · her
- 3 --AAABB- vall · all · heartA · peaertA · cartA · zellB · wellB · her
- 4 AABB-CC- eyesA · sighsA · sureB · poorB · mwore · cowC · vowC · her
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ov all the cows, among the rest | 8 | ········ |
| Wer woone that Nanny lik'd the best; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' after milken us'd to stan' | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-veeden o' her, vrom her han', | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' grass or hay; an' she know'd Ann, | 8 | ········ |
| An' in the evenen she did come | 9 | ········· |
| The vu'st, a-beaeten uep roun' hwome | 8 | ········ |
| Vor Ann to come an' milk her. | 7 | ······· |
| Her back wer hollor as a bow, | 8 | ········ |
| Her lags wer short, her body low; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Her head wer small, her horns turn'd in | 8 | ········ |
| Avore Her feaece so sharp's a pin: | 8 | ········ |
| Her eyes wer vull, her ears wer thin, | 8 | ········ |
| An' she wer red vrom head to tail, | 8 | ········ |
| An' didden start nor kick the pail, | 8 | ········ |
| When Nanny zot to milk her. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| But losses zoon begun to vall | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| On Nanny's father, that wi' all | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| His tweil he voun', wi' breaken heart, | 8 | ········ |
| That he mus' leaeve his ground, an' peaert | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' all his beaest an' hoss an' cart; | 8 | ········ |
| An', what did touch en mwost, to zell | 8 | ········ |
| The red cow Nanny lik'd so well, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' lik'd vor her to milk her. | 7 | ······· |
| Zalt tears did run vrom Nanny's eyes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To hear her restless father's sighs. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But as vor me, she mid be sure | 8 | ········ |
| I wont vorzeaeke her now she's poor, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor I do love her mwore an' mwore; | 8 | ········ |
| An' if I can but get a cow | 8 | ········ |
| An' parrock, I'll vulvil my vow, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' she shall come an' milk her. | 7 | ······· |
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.