The Bachelor
No! I don't begrudge en his life,Nor his goold, nor his housen, nor lands;Teaeke all o't, an' gi'e me my wife,A wife's be the cheapest ov hands.Lie alwone! sigh alwone! die alwone!Then be vorgot.No! I be content wi' my lot.
Ah! where be the vingers so feaeir,Vor to pat en so soft on the feaece,To mend ev'ry stitch that do tear,An' keep ev'ry button in pleaece?Crack a-tore! brack a-tore! back a-tore!Buttons a-vled!Vor want ov a wife wi' her thread.
Ah! where is the sweet-perty headThat do nod till he's gone out o' zight?An' where be the two eaerms a-spread,To show en he's welcome at night?Dine alwone! pine alwone! whine alwone!Oh! what a life!I'll have a friend in a wife.
An' when vrom a meeten o' me'thEach husban' do leaed hwome his bride,Then he do slink hwome to his he'th,Wi' his eaerm a-hung down his cwold zide.Slinken on! blinken on! thinken on!Gloomy an' glum;Nothen but dullness to come.
An' when he do onlock his door,Do rumble as hollow's a drum,An' the veaeries a-hid roun' the vloor,Do grin vor to see en so glum.Keep alwone! sleep alwone! weep alwone!There let en bide,I'll have a wife at my zide.
But when he's a-laid on his bedIn a zickness, O, what wull he do!Vor the hands that would lift up his head,An' sheaeke up his pillor anew.Ills to come! pills to come! bills to come!Noo soul to sheaereThe trials the poor wratch must bear.
Words in this poem
- begrudge v. t.
- To grudge; to envy the possession of.
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- brack n.
- Salt or brackish water. Drayton. [D. brak, adj., salt; cf. LG. wrak refuse, G. brack.]
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- slink v. t.
- To creep away meanly; to steal away; to sneak. [AS. slincan; probably akin to G. schleichen, E. sleek. See Sleek, a.]
- glum n.
- Sullenness. Skelton. [See Gloom.]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bachelor 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, The Bachelor, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/the-bachelor.html, id L02226.
Form and metre
The Bachelor is 42 lines in 6 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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-CC lifeA · landsB · wifeA · handsB · alwone · vorgotC · lotC
- 2 ABAB--- feaeirA · feaeceB · tearA · pleaeceB · tore · vled · thread
- 3 ABAB-CC headA · zightB · spreadA · nightB · alwone · lifeC · wifeC
- 4 ABAB-CC me'thA · brideB · he'thA · zideB · on · glumC · comeC
- 5 ABAB-CC doorA · drumB · vloorA · glumB · alwone · bideC · zideC
- 6 ABAB--- bedA · doB · headA · anewB · come · sheaere · bear
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| No! I don't begrudge en his life, | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| Nor his goold, nor his housen, nor lands; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Teaeke all o't, an' gi'e me my wife, | 8 | ········ |
| A wife's be the cheapest ov hands. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Lie alwone! sigh alwone! die alwone! | 9 | ········· |
| Then be vorgot. | 4 | ···· |
| No! I be content wi' my lot. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ah! where be the vingers so feaeir, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor to pat en so soft on the feaece, | 9 | ········· |
| To mend ev'ry stitch that do tear, | 8 | ········ |
| An' keep ev'ry button in pleaece? | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Crack a-tore! brack a-tore! back a-tore! | 9 | ········· |
| Buttons a-vled! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Vor want ov a wife wi' her thread. | 8 | ········ |
| Ah! where is the sweet-perty head | 8 | ········ |
| That do nod till he's gone out o' zight? | 9 | ········· |
| An' where be the two eaerms a-spread, | 8 | ········ |
| To show en he's welcome at night? | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Dine alwone! pine alwone! whine alwone! | 9 | ········· |
| Oh! what a life! | 4 | ···· |
| I'll have a friend in a wife. | 7 | ······· |
| An' when vrom a meeten o' me'th | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Each husban' do leaed hwome his bride, | 8 | ········ |
| Then he do slink hwome to his he'th, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' his eaerm a-hung down his cwold zide. | 9 | ········· |
| Slinken on! blinken on! thinken on! | 9 | ········· |
| Gloomy an' glum; | 4 | /˘·· |
| Nothen but dullness to come. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| An' when he do onlock his door, | 8 | ········ |
| Do rumble as hollow's a drum, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| An' the veaeries a-hid roun' the vloor, | 8 | ········ |
| Do grin vor to see en so glum. | 8 | ········ |
| Keep alwone! sleep alwone! weep alwone! | 9 | ········· |
| There let en bide, | 4 | ···· |
| I'll have a wife at my zide. | 7 | ······· |
| But when he's a-laid on his bed | 8 | ········ |
| In a zickness, O, what wull he do! | 10 | ·········· |
| Vor the hands that would lift up his head, | 9 | ········· |
| An' sheaeke up his pillor anew. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Ills to come! pills to come! bills to come! | 9 | ········· |
| Noo soul to sheaere | 4 | ···· |
| The trials the poor wratch must bear. | 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.