The Common A-Took in
Oh! no, Poll, no! Since they've a-tookThe common in, our lew wold nookDon't seem a-bit as used to lookWhen we had runnen room;Girt banks do shut up ev'ry drong,An' stratch wi' thorny backs alongWhere we did use to run amongThe vuzzen an' the broom.
Ees; while the ragged colts did cropThe nibbled grass, I used to hopThe emmet-buts, vrom top to top,So proud o' my spry jumps:Wi' thee behind or at my zide,A-skippen on so light an' wide'S thy little frock would let thee stride,Among the vuzzy humps.
Ah while the lark up over headDid twitter, I did search the redThick bunch o' broom, or yollow bedO' vuzzen vor a nest;An' thou di'st hunt about, to meetWi' strawberries so red an' sweet,Or clogs or shoes off hosses veet,Or wild thyme vor thy breast;
Or when the cows did run aboutA-stung, in zummer, by the stout,Or when they play'd, or when they foueght,Di'st stand a-looken on:An' where white geese, wi' long red bills,Did veed among the emmet-hills,There we did goo to vind their quillsAlongzide o' the pon'.
What fun there wer among us, whenThe hayward come, wi' all his men,To dreve the common, an' to penStrange cattle in the pound;The cows did bleaere, the men did shoutAn' toss their eaerms an' sticks about,An' vo'ks, to own their stock, come outVrom all the housen round.
Words in this poem
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- 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.]
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
- emmet n.
- An ant. Emmet hunter (Zoöl.), the wryneck. [OE. emete, amete, AS. æmete. See Ant.]
- spry a.
- Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active. [U.S. [Cf. dial. Sw. sprygg lively, skittish, and E. sprag.]
- stride v. t.
- To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
- twitter n.
- One who twits, or reproaches; an upbraider. [From Twit.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Common A-Took in 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 Common A-Took in, 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-common-a-took-in.html, id L02129.
Form and metre
The Common A-Took in is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AAABCCCB, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 45% 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 tookA · nookA · lookA · roomB · drongC · alongC · amongC · broomB
- 2 AAA-BBB- cropA · hopA · topA · jumps · zideB · wideB · strideB · humps
- 3 AAABCCCB headA · redA · bedA · nestB · meetC · sweetC · veetC · breastB
- 4 AA-BCCCB aboutA · stoutA · foueght · onB · billsC · hillsC · quillsC · ponB
- 5 AAABCCCB whenA · menA · penA · poundB · shoutC · aboutC · outC · roundB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh! no, Poll, no! Since they've a-took | 8 | ········ |
| The common in, our lew wold nook | 8 | ·/˘·/··· |
| Don't seem a-bit as used to look | 8 | ········ |
| When we had runnen room; | 6 | ······ |
| Girt banks do shut up ev'ry drong, | 8 | ········ |
| An' stratch wi' thorny backs along | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Where we did use to run among | 8 | ········ |
| The vuzzen an' the broom. | 6 | ······ |
| Ees; while the ragged colts did crop | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The nibbled grass, I used to hop | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The emmet-buts, vrom top to top, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So proud o' my spry jumps: | 6 | ······ |
| Wi' thee behind or at my zide, | 8 | ········ |
| A-skippen on so light an' wide | 8 | ········ |
| 'S thy little frock would let thee stride, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Among the vuzzy humps. | 6 | ······ |
| Ah while the lark up over head | 8 | ········ |
| Did twitter, I did search the red | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Thick bunch o' broom, or yollow bed | 8 | ········ |
| O' vuzzen vor a nest; | 6 | ······ |
| An' thou di'st hunt about, to meet | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' strawberries so red an' sweet, | 8 | ·/·˘···· |
| Or clogs or shoes off hosses veet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or wild thyme vor thy breast; | 6 | ······ |
| Or when the cows did run about | 8 | ········ |
| A-stung, in zummer, by the stout, | 8 | ········ |
| Or when they play'd, or when they foueght, | 8 | ········ |
| Di'st stand a-looken on: | 6 | ······ |
| An' where white geese, wi' long red bills, | 8 | ········ |
| Did veed among the emmet-hills, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| There we did goo to vind their quills | 8 | ········ |
| Alongzide o' the pon'. | 6 | ······ |
| What fun there wer among us, when | 8 | ········ |
| The hayward come, wi' all his men, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To dreve the common, an' to pen | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Strange cattle in the pound; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The cows did bleaere, the men did shout | 8 | ········ |
| An' toss their eaerms an' sticks about, | 8 | ········ |
| An' vo'ks, to own their stock, come out | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom all the housen round. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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.