THE CHILD's GREAeVE
Avore the time when zuns went downOn zummer's green a-turn'd to brown,When sheaedes o' swayen wheat-eaers vellUpon the scarlet pimpernel;The while you still mid goo, an' vind'Ithin the geaerden's mossy wall,Sweet blossoms, low or risen tall,To meaeke a tutty to your mind,In churchyard heav'd, wi' grassy breast,The greaeve-mound ov a beaeby's rest.
An' when a high day broke, to callA throng 'ithin the churchyard wall,The mother brought, wi' thoughtvul mind,The feaeirest buds her eyes could vind,To trim the little greaeve, an' showTo other souls her love an' loss,An' meaede a Seaevior's little crossO' brightest flow'rs that then did blow,A-droppen tears a-sheenen bright,Among the dew, in mornen light
An' woone sweet bud her han' did pleaeceUp where did droop the Seaevior's feaece;An' two she zet a-bloomen bright,Where reach'd His hands o' left an' right;Two mwore feaeir blossoms, crimson dyed,Did mark the pleaeces ov his veet,An' woone did lie, a-smellen sweet,Up where the spear did wound the zideOv Him that is the life ov allGreaeve sleepers, whether big or small.
The mother that in faith could zeeThe Seaevior on the high cross treeMid be a-vound a-grieven sore,But not to grieve vor evermwore,Vor He shall show her faithvul mind,His chaice is all that she should choose,An' love that here do grieve to lose,Shall be, above, a jay to vind,Wi' Him that evermwore shall keepThe souls that He do lay asleep.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- vell n.
- The salted stomach of a calf, used in making cheese; a rennet bag. [Cf. L. vellus the skin of a sheep with the wool on it, a fleece, a hide or pelt, or E. fell a hide.]
- tutty n.
- A yellow or brown amorphous substance obtained as a sublimation product in the flues of smelting furnaces of zinc, and consisting of a crude zinc oxide. [F. tutie; cf. Sp. tutia, atutia, LL. tutia; all from Per. tutiya.]
- churchyard n.
- The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
THE CHILD's GREAeVE 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 CHILD's GREAeVE, 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-child-s-greaeve.html, id L02325.
Form and metre
THE CHILD's GREAeVE is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCDDCEE, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 AA--BCCBDD downA · brownA · vell · pimpernel · vindB · wallC · tallC · mindB · breastD · restD
- 2 AABBCDDCEE callA · wallA · mindB · vindB · showC · lossD · crossD · blowC · brightE · lightE
- 3 AABBCDDCEE pleaeceA · feaeceA · brightB · rightB · dyedC · veetD · sweetD · zideC · allE · smallE
- 4 AABBCDDCEE zeeA · treeA · soreB · evermworeB · mindC · chooseD · loseD · vindC · keepE · asleepE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Avore the time when zuns went down | 8 | ········ |
| On zummer's green a-turn'd to brown, | 8 | ········ |
| When sheaedes o' swayen wheat-eaers vell | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the scarlet pimpernel; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| The while you still mid goo, an' vind | 8 | ········ |
| 'Ithin the geaerden's mossy wall, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Sweet blossoms, low or risen tall, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To meaeke a tutty to your mind, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In churchyard heav'd, wi' grassy breast, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| The greaeve-mound ov a beaeby's rest. | 8 | ········ |
| An' when a high day broke, to call | 8 | ········ |
| A throng 'ithin the churchyard wall, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| The mother brought, wi' thoughtvul mind, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The feaeirest buds her eyes could vind, | 8 | ········ |
| To trim the little greaeve, an' show | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To other souls her love an' loss, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' meaede a Seaevior's little cross | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O' brightest flow'rs that then did blow, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A-droppen tears a-sheenen bright, | 8 | ········ |
| Among the dew, in mornen light | 8 | ········ |
| An' woone sweet bud her han' did pleaece | 8 | ········ |
| Up where did droop the Seaevior's feaece; | 8 | ········ |
| An' two she zet a-bloomen bright, | 8 | ········ |
| Where reach'd His hands o' left an' right; | 8 | ········ |
| Two mwore feaeir blossoms, crimson dyed, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Did mark the pleaeces ov his veet, | 8 | ········ |
| An' woone did lie, a-smellen sweet, | 8 | ········ |
| Up where the spear did wound the zide | 8 | ········ |
| Ov Him that is the life ov all | 8 | ········ |
| Greaeve sleepers, whether big or small. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The mother that in faith could zee | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The Seaevior on the high cross tree | 8 | ········ |
| Mid be a-vound a-grieven sore, | 8 | ········ |
| But not to grieve vor evermwore, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor He shall show her faithvul mind, | 8 | ········ |
| His chaice is all that she should choose, | 8 | ········ |
| An' love that here do grieve to lose, | 8 | ········ |
| Shall be, above, a jay to vind, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' Him that evermwore shall keep | 8 | ········ |
| The souls that He do lay asleep. | 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.