Poll's Jack-Daw
Ah! Jimmy vow'd he'd have the lawOv ouer cousin Poll's Jack-daw,That had by day his withy jailA-hangen up upon a nail,Ageaen the elem tree, avoreThe house, jist over-right the door,An' twitted vo'k a-passen byA-most so plain as you or I;Vor hardly any day did pass'Ithout Tom's teachen o'm zome sa'ce;Till by-an'-by he call'd em all'Soft-polls' an' 'gawkeys,' girt an' small.
An' zoo, as Jim went down alongThe leaene a-whisslen ov a zong,The saucy Daw cried out by rote"Girt Soft-poll!" lik' to split his droat.Jim stopp'd an' grabbled up a clot,An' zent en at en lik' a shot;An' down went Daw an' cage avoreThe clot, up thump ageaen the door.Zoo out run Poll an' Tom, to zeeWhat all the meaenen o't mid be;"Now who did that?" zaid Poll. "Who whurr'dTheaese clot?" "Girt Soft-poll!" cried the bird.
An' when Tom catch'd a glimpse o' Jim,A-looken all so red an' slim,An' slinken on, he vled, red hot,Down leaene to catch en, lik' a shot;But Jim, that thought he'd better trustTo lags than vistes, tried em vu'st.An' Poll, that zeed Tom woulden catchEn, stood a-smilen at the hatch.An' zoo he vollow'd en for twoOr dree stwones' drows, an' let en goo.
Words in this poem
- jimmy n.
- A short crowbar used by burglars in breaking open doors. [Cf. Jemmy.]
- withy n.
- The osier willow (Salix viminalis). See Osier, n. (a). [OE. withe, wipi, AS. wi a willow, willow twig; akin to G. weide willow, OHG. wida, Icel. vi, a withy, Sw. vide a willow twig, Dan. vidie a willow, osier, Gr. vi]
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- rote v. t.
- To learn or repeat by rote.
- dree v. i.
- To be able to do or endure.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poll's Jack-Daw 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, Poll's Jack-Daw, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/poll-s-jack-daw.html, id L02083.
Form and metre
Poll's Jack-Daw is 34 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 88% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 41% 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 AABBCCDD--EE lawA · dawA · jailB · nailB · avoreC · doorC · byD · iD · pass · sa'ce · allE · smallE
- 2 AABBCCDDEE-- alongA · zongA · roteB · droatB · clotC · shotC · avoreD · doorD · zeeE · beE · whurr'd · bird
- 3 AABBCCDDEE jimA · slimA · hotB · shotB · trustC · vu'stC · catchD · hatchD · twoE · gooE
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! Jimmy vow'd he'd have the law | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ov ouer cousin Poll's Jack-daw, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| That had by day his withy jail | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-hangen up upon a nail, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ageaen the elem tree, avore | 8 | ········ |
| The house, jist over-right the door, | 8 | ········ |
| An' twitted vo'k a-passen by | 8 | ········ |
| A-most so plain as you or I; | 8 | ········ |
| Vor hardly any day did pass | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| 'Ithout Tom's teachen o'm zome sa'ce; | 8 | ········ |
| Till by-an'-by he call'd em all | 8 | ········ |
| 'Soft-polls' an' 'gawkeys,' girt an' small. | 8 | ········ |
| An' zoo, as Jim went down along | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The leaene a-whisslen ov a zong, | 8 | ········ |
| The saucy Daw cried out by rote | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "Girt Soft-poll!" lik' to split his droat. | 8 | ········ |
| Jim stopp'd an' grabbled up a clot, | 8 | ····˘··· |
| An' zent en at en lik' a shot; | 8 | ········ |
| An' down went Daw an' cage avore | 8 | ········ |
| The clot, up thump ageaen the door. | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo out run Poll an' Tom, to zee | 8 | ········ |
| What all the meaenen o't mid be; | 8 | ········ |
| "Now who did that?" zaid Poll. "Who whurr'd | 8 | ········ |
| Theaese clot?" "Girt Soft-poll!" cried the bird. | 8 | ········ |
| An' when Tom catch'd a glimpse o' Jim, | 8 | ········ |
| A-looken all so red an' slim, | 8 | ········ |
| An' slinken on, he vled, red hot, | 8 | ········ |
| Down leaene to catch en, lik' a shot; | 8 | ········ |
| But Jim, that thought he'd better trust | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To lags than vistes, tried em vu'st. | 7 | ······· |
| An' Poll, that zeed Tom woulden catch | 8 | ········ |
| En, stood a-smilen at the hatch. | 8 | ········ |
| An' zoo he vollow'd en for two | 8 | ········ |
| Or dree stwones' drows, an' let en goo. | 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.