The Dreven o' the Common
In the common by our hwomeThere wer freely-open room,Vor our litty veet to roamBy the vuzzen out in bloom.That wi' prickles kept our lagsVrom the skylark's nest ov aggs;While the peewit wheel'd aroundWi' his cry up over head,Or he sped, though a-limpen, o'er the ground.
There we heaerd the whickr'en meaereWi' her vaice a-quiv'ren high;Where the cow did loudly bleaereBy the donkey's vallen cry.While a-stoopen man did zwingHis bright hook at vuzz or lingFree o' fear, wi' wellglov'd hands,O' the prickly vuzz he vell'd,Then sweet-smell'd as it died in faggot bands.
When the hayward drove the stockIn a herd to zome oone pleaece,Thither vo'k begun to vlock,Each to own his beaestes feaece.While the geese, bezide the stream,Zent vrom gapen bills a scream,An' the cattle then avound,Without right o' greaezen there,Went to bleaere bray or whicker in the pound.
Words in this poem
- ling n.
- Heather (Calluna vulgaris). Ling honey, a sort of wild honey, made from the flowers of the heather. Holland. [Icel. lyng; akin to Dan. lyng, Sw. ljung.]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- bray v. t.
- To pound, beat, rub, or grind small or fine. [OE. brayen, OF. breier, F. broyer to pound, grind, fr. OHG. brehhan to break. See Break.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Dreven o' the Common 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 Dreven o' the Common, 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-dreven-o-the-common.html, id L02128.
Form and metre
The Dreven o' the Common is 27 lines in 3 stanzas of 9 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCCD-D hwomeA · roomB · roamA · bloomB · lagsC · aggsC · aroundD · head · groundD
- 2 ABABCCD-D meaereA · highB · bleaereA · cryB · zwingC · lingC · handsD · vell'd · bandsD
- 3 ABABCCD-D stockA · pleaeceB · vlockA · feaeceB · streamC · screamC · avoundD · there · poundD
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In the common by our hwome | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| There wer freely-open room, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Vor our litty veet to roam | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| By the vuzzen out in bloom. | 7 | ······· |
| That wi' prickles kept our lags | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Vrom the skylark's nest ov aggs; | 7 | ··/···· |
| While the peewit wheel'd around | 7 | ······· |
| Wi' his cry up over head, | 7 | ······· |
| Or he sped, though a-limpen, o'er the ground. | 10 | ·········· |
| There we heaerd the whickr'en meaere | 7 | ······· |
| Wi' her vaice a-quiv'ren high; | 7 | ······· |
| Where the cow did loudly bleaere | 7 | ····/˘· |
| By the donkey's vallen cry. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| While a-stoopen man did zwing | 7 | ······· |
| His bright hook at vuzz or ling | 7 | ······· |
| Free o' fear, wi' wellglov'd hands, | 7 | ······· |
| O' the prickly vuzz he vell'd, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Then sweet-smell'd as it died in faggot bands. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When the hayward drove the stock | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In a herd to zome oone pleaece, | 7 | ······· |
| Thither vo'k begun to vlock, | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Each to own his beaestes feaece. | 6 | ······ |
| While the geese, bezide the stream, | 7 | ······· |
| Zent vrom gapen bills a scream, | 7 | ······· |
| An' the cattle then avound, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Without right o' greaezen there, | 7 | ······· |
| Went to bleaere bray or whicker in the pound. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
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.