Praise o' Do'Set
We Do'set, though we mid be hwomely,Be'nt asheaem'd to own our pleaece;An' we've zome women not uncomely;Nor asheaem'd to show their feaece:We've a meaed or two wo'th mowen,We've an ox or two we'th showen,In the village,At the tillage,Come along an' you shall vindThat Do'set men don't sheaeme their kind.Friend an' wife,Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers,Happy, happy, be their life!Vor Do'set dear,Then gi'e woone cheer;D'ye hear? woone cheer!
If you in Do'set be a-roamen,An' ha' business at a farm,Then woont ye zee your eaele a-foamen!Or your cider down to warm?Woont ye have brown bread a-put ye,An' some vinny cheese a-cut ye?Butter?--rolls o't!Cream?--why bowls o't!Woont ye have, in short, your vill,A-gi'ed wi' a right good will?Friend an' wife,Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers.Happy, happy, be their life!Vor Do'set dear,Then gi'e woone cheer;D'ye hear? woone cheer!
An' woont ye have vor ev'ry shillen,Shillen's wo'th at any shop,Though Do'set chaps be up to zellen,An' can meaeke a tidy swop?Use em well, they'll use you better;In good turns they woont be debtor.An' so comely,An' so hwomely,Be the maidens, if your sonTook woone o'm, then you'd cry "Well done!"Friend an' wife,Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers,Happy, happy, be their life!Vor Do'set dear,Then gi'e woone cheer;D'ye hear? woone cheer!
If you do zee our good men travel,Down a-voot, or on their meaeres,Along the winden leaenes o' gravel,To the markets or the feaeirs,--Though their ho'ses cwoats be ragged,Though the men be muddy-lagged,Be they roughish,Be they gruffish,They be sound, an' they will standBy what is right wi' heart an' hand.Friend an' wife,Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers,Happy, happy, be their life!Vor Do'set dear,Then gi'e woone cheer;D'ye hear? woone cheer!
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- vill n.
- A small collection of houses; a village. [OF. ville, vile, a village, F. ville a town, city. See Villa.]
- roughish a.
- Somewhat rough.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Praise o' Do'Set 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, Praise o' Do'Set, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/praise-o-do-set.html, id L02255.
Form and metre
Praise o' Do'Set is 64 lines in 4 stanzas of 16 lines each. The metre is trochaic 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 6.5 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABAB--CCDDE-EFFF hwomelyA · pleaeceB · uncomelyA · feaeceB · mowen · showen · villageC · tillageC · vindD · kindD · wifeE · brothers · lifeE · dearF · cheerF · cheerF
- 2 A-A-BBBBCCD-DEEE roamenA · farm · foamenA · warm · yeB · yeB · o'tB · o'tB · villC · willC · wifeD · brothers · lifeD · dearE · cheerE · cheerE
- 3 A-A-BB--CCD-DEEE shillenA · shop · zellenA · swop · betterB · debtorB · comely · hwomely · sonC · doneC · wifeD · brothers · lifeD · dearE · cheerE · cheerE
- 4 A-A---BBCCD-DEEE travelA · meaeres · gravelA · feaeirs · ragged · lagged · roughishB · gruffishB · standC · handC · wifeD · brothers · lifeD · dearE · cheerE · cheerE
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| We Do'set, though we mid be hwomely, | 11 | ··········· |
| Be'nt asheaem'd to own our pleaece; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' we've zome women not uncomely; | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Nor asheaem'd to show their feaece: | 7 | ······· |
| We've a meaed or two wo'th mowen, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| We've an ox or two we'th showen, | 8 | ········ |
| In the village, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| At the tillage, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Come along an' you shall vind | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| That Do'set men don't sheaeme their kind. | 9 | ········· |
| Friend an' wife, | 3 | ··· |
| Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Happy, happy, be their life! | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Vor Do'set dear, | 5 | ····· |
| Then gi'e woone cheer; | 4 | ···· |
| D'ye hear? woone cheer! | 4 | ···· |
| If you in Do'set be a-roamen, | 10 | ·········· |
| An' ha' business at a farm, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Then woont ye zee your eaele a-foamen! | 10 | ·········· |
| Or your cider down to warm? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Woont ye have brown bread a-put ye, | 8 | ········ |
| An' some vinny cheese a-cut ye? | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Butter?--rolls o't! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Cream?--why bowls o't! | 4 | ···· |
| Woont ye have, in short, your vill, | 7 | ······· |
| A-gi'ed wi' a right good will? | 8 | ··˘····· |
| Friend an' wife, | 3 | ··· |
| Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers. | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Happy, happy, be their life! | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Vor Do'set dear, | 5 | ····· |
| Then gi'e woone cheer; | 4 | ···· |
| D'ye hear? woone cheer! | 4 | ···· |
| An' woont ye have vor ev'ry shillen, | 9 | ········· |
| Shillen's wo'th at any shop, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Though Do'set chaps be up to zellen, | 10 | ·········· |
| An' can meaeke a tidy swop? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Use em well, they'll use you better; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| In good turns they woont be debtor. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| An' so comely, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| An' so hwomely, | 5 | ····· |
| Be the maidens, if your son | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Took woone o'm, then you'd cry "Well done!" | 8 | ········ |
| Friend an' wife, | 3 | ··· |
| Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Happy, happy, be their life! | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Vor Do'set dear, | 5 | ····· |
| Then gi'e woone cheer; | 4 | ···· |
| D'ye hear? woone cheer! | 4 | ···· |
| If you do zee our good men travel, | 9 | ····/··/˘ |
| Down a-voot, or on their meaeres, | 7 | ······· |
| Along the winden leaenes o' gravel, | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| To the markets or the feaeirs,-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Though their ho'ses cwoats be ragged, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Though the men be muddy-lagged, | 8 | ····/˘·˘ |
| Be they roughish, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Be they gruffish, | 4 | ···· |
| They be sound, an' they will stand | 7 | ······· |
| By what is right wi' heart an' hand. | 8 | ········ |
| Friend an' wife, | 3 | ··· |
| Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Happy, happy, be their life! | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Vor Do'set dear, | 5 | ····· |
| Then gi'e woone cheer; | 4 | ···· |
| D'ye hear? woone cheer! | 4 | ···· |
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.