Our Fathers' Works
Ah! I do think, as I do treadTheaese path, wi' elems overhead,A-climen slowly up vrom Bridge,By easy steps, to Broadwoak Ridge,That all theaese roads that we do bruiseWi' hosses' shoes, or heavy lwoads;An' hedges' bands, where trees in rowDo rise an' grow aroun' the lands,Be works that we've a-vound a-wroughtBy our vorefathers' ceaere an' thought.
They clear'd the groun' vor grass to teaekeThe pleaece that bore the bremble breaeke,An' drain'd the fen, where water spread,A-lyen dead, a beaene to men;An' built the mill, where still the wheelDo grind our meal, below the hill;An' turn'd the bridge, wi' arch a-spread,Below a road, vor us to tread.
They vound a pleaece, where we mid seekThe gifts o' greaece vrom week to week;An' built wi' stwone, upon the hill,A tow'r we still do call our own;With bells to use, an' meaeke rejaice,Wi' giant vaice, at our good news:An' lifted stwones an' beams to keepThe rain an' cwold vrom us asleep.
Zoo now mid nwone ov us vorgetThe pattern our vorefathers zet;But each be faein to underteaekeSome work to meaeke vor others' gain,That we mid leaeve mwore good to sheaere,Less ills to bear, less souls to grieve,An' when our hands do vall to rest,It mid be vrom a work a-blest.
About this text
Our Fathers' Works 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, Our Fathers' Works, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/our-fathers-works.html, id L02177.
Form and metre
Our Fathers' Works is 34 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 53% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. 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. 29% 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 AABB----CC treadA · overheadA · bridgeB · ridgeB · bruise · lwoads · row · lands · wroughtC · thoughtC
- 2 AAB---BB teaekeA · breaekeA · spreadB · men · wheel · hill · spreadB · treadB
- 3 AA----BB seekA · weekA · hill · own · rejaice · news · keepB · asleepB
- 4 AA----BB vorgetA · zetA · underteaeke · gain · sheaere · grieve · restB · blestB
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! I do think, as I do tread | 8 | ········ |
| Theaese path, wi' elems overhead, | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| A-climen slowly up vrom Bridge, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By easy steps, to Broadwoak Ridge, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That all theaese roads that we do bruise | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' hosses' shoes, or heavy lwoads; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' hedges' bands, where trees in row | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Do rise an' grow aroun' the lands, | 8 | ········ |
| Be works that we've a-vound a-wrought | 8 | ········ |
| By our vorefathers' ceaere an' thought. | 9 | ·/······· |
| They clear'd the groun' vor grass to teaeke | 8 | ········ |
| The pleaece that bore the bremble breaeke, | 8 | ········ |
| An' drain'd the fen, where water spread, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-lyen dead, a beaene to men; | 7 | ······· |
| An' built the mill, where still the wheel | 8 | ········ |
| Do grind our meal, below the hill; | 8 | ··/····· |
| An' turn'd the bridge, wi' arch a-spread, | 8 | ········ |
| Below a road, vor us to tread. | 8 | ········ |
| They vound a pleaece, where we mid seek | 8 | ········ |
| The gifts o' greaece vrom week to week; | 8 | ········ |
| An' built wi' stwone, upon the hill, | 8 | ········ |
| A tow'r we still do call our own; | 8 | ······/· |
| With bells to use, an' meaeke rejaice, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' giant vaice, at our good news: | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| An' lifted stwones an' beams to keep | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The rain an' cwold vrom us asleep. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Zoo now mid nwone ov us vorget | 8 | ········ |
| The pattern our vorefathers zet; | 9 | ·/˘/····· |
| But each be faein to underteaeke | 8 | ········ |
| Some work to meaeke vor others' gain, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That we mid leaeve mwore good to sheaere, | 8 | ········ |
| Less ills to bear, less souls to grieve, | 8 | ········ |
| An' when our hands do vall to rest, | 8 | ··/····· |
| It mid be vrom a work a-blest. | 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.