The Blackbird
'Twer out at Penley I'd a-pastA zummer day that went too vast,An' when the zetten zun did spreadOn western clouds a vi'ry red;The elems' leafy limbs wer stillAbove the gravel-bedded rill,An' under en did warble sh'ill,Avore the dusk, the blackbird.
An' there, in sheaedes o' darksome yews,Did vlee the maidens on their tooes,A-laughen sh'ill wi' merry feaeceWhen we did vind their hiden pleaece.'Ithin the loose-bough'd ivys gloom,Or lofty lilac, vull in bloom,Or hazzle-wrides that gi'ed em roomBelow the zingen blackbird.
Above our heads the rooks did vleeTo reach their nested elem-tree,An' splashen vish did rise to catchThe wheelen gnots above the hatch;An' there the miller went along,A-smilen, up the sheaedy drong,But yeet too deaf to hear the zongA-zung us by the blackbird.
An' there the sh'illy-bubblen brookDid leaeve behind his rocky nook,To run drough meaeds a-chill'd wi' dew,Vrom hour to hour the whole night drough;But still his murmurs wer a-drown'dBy vaices that mid never soundAgeaen together on that ground,Wi' whislens o' the blackbird.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- rill n.
- A very small brook; a streamlet. [Cf. LG. rille a small channel or brook, a furrow, a chamfer, OE. rigol a small brook, F. rigole a trench or furrow for water, W. rhill a row, rhigol a little di]
- warble v. t.
- To sing in a trilling, quavering, or vibratory manner; to modulate with turns or variations; to trill; as, certain birds are remarkable for warbling their songs. [OE. werbelen, OF. werbler; of Teutonic origin; cf. G. wirbeln to turn, to warble, D. wervelen, akin to E. whirl. See Whirl.]
- darksome a.
- Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless.
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Blackbird 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 Blackbird, 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-blackbird-2.html, id L02201.
Form and metre
The Blackbird is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. 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 7.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 34% 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 AABBCCCB pastA · vastA · spreadB · redB · stillC · rillC · sh'illC · blackbirdB
- 2 --AABBB- yews · tooes · feaeceA · pleaeceA · gloomB · bloomB · roomB · blackbird
- 3 AABBCCC- vleeA · treeA · catchB · hatchB · alongC · drongC · zongC · blackbird
- 4 AA--BBB- brookA · nookA · dew · drough · drown'dB · soundB · groundB · blackbird
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 out at Penley I'd a-past | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A zummer day that went too vast, | 8 | ········ |
| An' when the zetten zun did spread | 8 | ········ |
| On western clouds a vi'ry red; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The elems' leafy limbs wer still | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Above the gravel-bedded rill, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An' under en did warble sh'ill, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Avore the dusk, the blackbird. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' there, in sheaedes o' darksome yews, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Did vlee the maidens on their tooes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-laughen sh'ill wi' merry feaece | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When we did vind their hiden pleaece. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Ithin the loose-bough'd ivys gloom, | 8 | ········ |
| Or lofty lilac, vull in bloom, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| Or hazzle-wrides that gi'ed em room | 8 | ········ |
| Below the zingen blackbird. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Above our heads the rooks did vlee | 8 | ··/····· |
| To reach their nested elem-tree, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' splashen vish did rise to catch | 8 | ········ |
| The wheelen gnots above the hatch; | 8 | ········ |
| An' there the miller went along, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A-smilen, up the sheaedy drong, | 8 | ········ |
| But yeet too deaf to hear the zong | 8 | ········ |
| A-zung us by the blackbird. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' there the sh'illy-bubblen brook | 8 | ········ |
| Did leaeve behind his rocky nook, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To run drough meaeds a-chill'd wi' dew, | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom hour to hour the whole night drough; | 8 | ·/·/···· |
| But still his murmurs wer a-drown'd | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By vaices that mid never sound | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ageaen together on that ground, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Wi' whislens o' the blackbird. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
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