SHEAeDES
Come here an' zit a while belowTheaese tower, grey and ivy-bound,In sheaede, the while the zun do glowSo hot upon the flow'ry ground;An' winds in flight,Do briskly smiteThe blossoms bright, upon the gleaede,But never stir the sleepen sheaede.
As when you stood upon the brinkO' yonder brook, wi' back-zunn'd head,Your zunny-grounded sheaede did zinkUpon the water's grav'lly bed,Where weaeves could zweepAway, or keep,The gravel heap that they'd a-meaede,But never wash away the sheaede.
An' zoo, when you can woonce vulvilWhat's feaeir, a-tried by heaven's light,Why never fear that evil willCan meaeke a wrong o' your good right.The right wull stand,Vor all man's hand,Till streams on zand, an' wind in gleaedes,Can zweep away the zuncast sheaedes.
Words in this poem
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
SHEAeDES 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, SHEAeDES, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/sheaedes.html, id L02300.
Form and metre
SHEAeDES is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDD, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 33% 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 ABABCCDD belowA · boundB · glowA · groundB · flightC · smiteC · gleaedeD · sheaedeD
- 2 ABABCCDD brinkA · headB · zinkA · bedB · zweepC · keepC · meaedeD · sheaedeD
- 3 -A-ABBCC vulvil · lightA · will · rightA · standB · handB · gleaedesC · sheaedesC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Come here an' zit a while below | 8 | ········ |
| Theaese tower, grey and ivy-bound, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In sheaede, the while the zun do glow | 8 | ········ |
| So hot upon the flow'ry ground; | 8 | ········ |
| An' winds in flight, | 4 | ···· |
| Do briskly smite | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The blossoms bright, upon the gleaede, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But never stir the sleepen sheaede. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As when you stood upon the brink | 8 | ········ |
| O' yonder brook, wi' back-zunn'd head, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Your zunny-grounded sheaede did zink | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon the water's grav'lly bed, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where weaeves could zweep | 4 | ···· |
| Away, or keep, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| The gravel heap that they'd a-meaede, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But never wash away the sheaede. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| An' zoo, when you can woonce vulvil | 8 | ········ |
| What's feaeir, a-tried by heaven's light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Why never fear that evil will | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Can meaeke a wrong o' your good right. | 8 | ········ |
| The right wull stand, | 5 | ····· |
| Vor all man's hand, | 4 | ···· |
| Till streams on zand, an' wind in gleaedes, | 8 | ········ |
| Can zweep away the zuncast sheaedes. | 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.