The Bwoat
Where cows did slowly seek the brinkO' Stour, drough zunburnt grass, to drink;Wi' vishen float, that there did zinkAn' rise, I zot as in a dream.The dazzlen zun did cast his lightOn hedge-row blossom, snowy white,Though nothen yet did come in zight,A-stirren on the strayen stream;
Till, out by sheaedy rocks there show'd,A bwoat along his foamy road,Wi' thik feaeir maid at mill, a-row'dWi' Jeaene behind her brother's oars.An' steaetely as a queen o' vo'k,She zot wi' floaten scarlet cloak,An' comen on, at ev'ry stroke,Between my withy-sheaeded shores.
The broken stream did idly tryTo show her sheaepe a-riden by,The rushes brown-bloom'd stems did ply,As if they bow'd to her by will.The rings o' water, wi' a sock,Did break upon the mossy rock,An' gi'e my beaeten heart a shock,Above my float's up-leapen quill.
Then, lik' a cloud below the skies,A-drifted off, wi' less'nen size,An' lost, she floated vrom my eyes,Where down below the stream did wind;An' left the quiet weaeves woonce mworeTo zink to rest, a sky-blue'd vloor,Wi' all so still's the clote they bore,Aye, all but my own ruffled mind.
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.]
- stour n.
- A battle or tumult; encounter; combat; disturbance; passion. [OF. estour, estor, tumult, combat, of Teutonic origin. See Storm.]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- withy n.
- The osier willow (Salix viminalis). See Osier, n. (a). [OE. withe, wipi, AS. wi a willow, willow twig; akin to G. weide willow, OHG. wida, Icel. vi, a withy, Sw. vide a willow twig, Dan. vidie a willow, osier, Gr. vi]
- sock n.
- A plowshare. Edin. Encyc. [F. soc, LL. soccus, perhaps of Celtic origin.]
- clote n.
- The common burdock; the clotbur. Wyclif. [AS. cl: cf. G. klette.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bwoat 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 Bwoat, 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-bwoat.html, id L02237.
Form and metre
The Bwoat is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AAABCCCB, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 19% 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 AAABCCCB brinkA · drinkA · zinkA · dreamB · lightC · whiteC · zightC · streamB
- 2 AAAB-CCB show'dA · roadA · row'dA · oarsB · vo'k · cloakC · strokeC · shoresB
- 3 AAABCCCB tryA · byA · plyA · willB · sockC · rockC · shockC · quillB
- 4 AAABC-CB skiesA · sizeA · eyesA · windB · mworeC · vloor · boreC · mindB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Where cows did slowly seek the brink | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O' Stour, drough zunburnt grass, to drink; | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' vishen float, that there did zink | 8 | ········ |
| An' rise, I zot as in a dream. | 8 | ········ |
| The dazzlen zun did cast his light | 8 | ········ |
| On hedge-row blossom, snowy white, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Though nothen yet did come in zight, | 8 | ········ |
| A-stirren on the strayen stream; | 7 | ······· |
| Till, out by sheaedy rocks there show'd, | 8 | ········ |
| A bwoat along his foamy road, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Wi' thik feaeir maid at mill, a-row'd | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' Jeaene behind her brother's oars. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' steaetely as a queen o' vo'k, | 9 | ········· |
| She zot wi' floaten scarlet cloak, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' comen on, at ev'ry stroke, | 8 | ········ |
| Between my withy-sheaeded shores. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The broken stream did idly try | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To show her sheaepe a-riden by, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The rushes brown-bloom'd stems did ply, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As if they bow'd to her by will. | 8 | ········ |
| The rings o' water, wi' a sock, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Did break upon the mossy rock, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' gi'e my beaeten heart a shock, | 8 | ········ |
| Above my float's up-leapen quill. | 8 | ········ |
| Then, lik' a cloud below the skies, | 8 | ········ |
| A-drifted off, wi' less'nen size, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' lost, she floated vrom my eyes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where down below the stream did wind; | 8 | ········ |
| An' left the quiet weaeves woonce mwore | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To zink to rest, a sky-blue'd vloor, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' all so still's the clote they bore, | 8 | ········ |
| Aye, all but my own ruffled mind. | 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.