The Bean Vield
'Twer where the zun did warm the lewth,An' win' did whiver in the sheaede,The sweet-air'd beaens were out in blooth,Down there 'ithin the elem gleaede;A yollow-banded bee did come,An' softly-pitch, wi' hushen hum,Upon a beaen, an' there did sip,Upon a swayen blossom's lip:An' there cried he, "Aye, I can zee,This blossom's all a-zent vor me."
A-jilted up an' down, astrideUpon a lofty ho'se a-trot,The meaester then come by wi' pride,To zee the beaens that he'd a-got;An' as he zot upon his ho'se,The ho'se ageaen did snort an' tossHis high-ear'd head, an' at the zightOv all the blossom, black an' white:"Ah! ah!" thought he, the seaeme's the bee,"Theaese beaens be all a-zent vor me."
Zoo let the worold's riches breedA strife o' claims, wi' weak and strong,Vor now what cause have I to heedWho's in the right, or in the wrong;Since there do come drough yonder hatch,An' bloom below the house's thatch,The best o' maidens, an' do ownThat she is mine, an' mine alwone:Zoo I can zee that love do gi'eThe best ov all good gifts to me.
Vor whose be all the crops an' landA-won an' lost, an' bought, an zwoldOr whose, a-roll'd vrom hand to hand,The highest money that's a-twold?Vrom man to man a passen on,'Tis here to-day, to-morrow gone.But there's a blessen high aboveIt all--a soul o' stedvast love:Zoo let it vlee, if God do gi'eSweet Jessie vor a gift to me.
Words in this poem
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
- astride adv.
- With one leg on each side, as a man when on horseback; with the legs stretched wide apart; astraddle. [Pref. a- + stride.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- 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
The Bean Vield 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 Bean Vield, 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-bean-vield.html, id L02221.
Form and metre
The Bean Vield is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. 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. 28% 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 -A-ABBCCDD lewth · sheaedeA · blooth · gleaedeA · comeB · humB · sipC · lipC · zeeD · meD
- 2 ABAB--CCDD astrideA · trotB · prideA · gotB · ho'se · toss · zightC · whiteC · beeD · meD
- 3 ABABCCDD-- breedA · strongB · heedA · wrongB · hatchC · thatchC · ownD · alwoneD · gi'e · me
- 4 ABABCCDD-- landA · zwoldB · handA · twoldB · onC · goneC · aboveD · loveD · gi'e · me
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Twer where the zun did warm the lewth, | 8 | ········ |
| An' win' did whiver in the sheaede, | 8 | ········ |
| The sweet-air'd beaens were out in blooth, | 8 | ········ |
| Down there 'ithin the elem gleaede; | 8 | ········ |
| A yollow-banded bee did come, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' softly-pitch, wi' hushen hum, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon a beaen, an' there did sip, | 8 | ········ |
| Upon a swayen blossom's lip: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' there cried he, "Aye, I can zee, | 8 | ········ |
| This blossom's all a-zent vor me." | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A-jilted up an' down, astride | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Upon a lofty ho'se a-trot, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The meaester then come by wi' pride, | 8 | ········ |
| To zee the beaens that he'd a-got; | 8 | ········ |
| An' as he zot upon his ho'se, | 8 | ········ |
| The ho'se ageaen did snort an' toss | 8 | ········ |
| His high-ear'd head, an' at the zight | 8 | ········ |
| Ov all the blossom, black an' white: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Ah! ah!" thought he, the seaeme's the bee, | 8 | ········ |
| "Theaese beaens be all a-zent vor me." | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo let the worold's riches breed | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A strife o' claims, wi' weak and strong, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor now what cause have I to heed | 8 | ········ |
| Who's in the right, or in the wrong; | 8 | ········ |
| Since there do come drough yonder hatch, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' bloom below the house's thatch, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The best o' maidens, an' do own | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That she is mine, an' mine alwone: | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo I can zee that love do gi'e | 8 | ········ |
| The best ov all good gifts to me. | 8 | ········ |
| Vor whose be all the crops an' land | 8 | ········ |
| A-won an' lost, an' bought, an zwold | 8 | ········ |
| Or whose, a-roll'd vrom hand to hand, | 8 | ········ |
| The highest money that's a-twold? | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Vrom man to man a passen on, | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis here to-day, to-morrow gone. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But there's a blessen high above | 8 | ········ |
| It all--a soul o' stedvast love: | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo let it vlee, if God do gi'e | 8 | ········ |
| Sweet Jessie vor a gift to me. | 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.