The Echo
About the tow'r an' churchyard wall,Out nearly overright our door,A tongue ov wind did always callWhatever we did call avore.The vaice did mock our neaemes, our cheers,Our merry laughs, our hands' loud claps,An' mother's call "Come, come, my dears"--my dears;Or "Do as I do bid, bad chaps"--bad chaps.
An' when o' Zundays on the green,In frocks an' cwoats as gay as new,We walk'd wi' shoes a-meaede to sheenSo black an' bright's a vull-ripe slooeWe then did hear the tongue ov airA-mocken mother's vaice so thin,"Come, now the bell do goo vor pray'r"--vor pray'r;"'Tis time to goo to church; come in"--come in.
The night when little Anne, that died,Begun to zicken, back in May,An' she, at dusk ov evenen-tide,Wer out wi' others at their play,Within the churchyard that do keepHer little bed, the vaice o' thinDark air, mock'd mother's call "To sleep"--to sleep;"'Tis bed time now, my love, come in"--come in.
An' when our Jeaene come out so smartA-married, an' we help'd her inTo Henry's newly-painted cart,The while the wheels begun to spin,An' her gay nods, vor all she smil'd,Did sheaeke a tear-drop vrom each eye,The vaice mock'd mother's call, "Dear child"--dear child;"God bless ye evermwore; good bye"--good bye.
Words in this poem
- churchyard n.
- The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery.
- claps v. t.
- Variant of Clasp
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Echo 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 Echo, 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-echo.html, id L02257.
Form and metre
The Echo is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCCDD, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 20% 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 ABABCDCCDD wallA · doorB · callA · avoreB · cheersC · clapsD · dearsC · dearsC · chapsD · chapsD
- 2 A-A--BCCBB greenA · new · sheenA · slooe · air · thinB · pray'rC · pray'rC · inB · inB
- 3 ABABCDCCDD diedA · mayB · tideA · playB · keepC · thinD · sleepC · sleepC · inD · inD
- 4 ABABCDCCDD smartA · inB · cartA · spinB · smil'dC · eyeD · childC · childC · byeD · byeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| About the tow'r an' churchyard wall, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Out nearly overright our door, | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| A tongue ov wind did always call | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Whatever we did call avore. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The vaice did mock our neaemes, our cheers, | 8 | ····/·/· |
| Our merry laughs, our hands' loud claps, | 8 | //˘·/··· |
| An' mother's call "Come, come, my dears" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| --my dears; | 2 | ·· |
| Or "Do as I do bid, bad chaps" | 8 | ········ |
| --bad chaps. | 2 | ·· |
| An' when o' Zundays on the green, | 8 | ········ |
| In frocks an' cwoats as gay as new, | 8 | ········ |
| We walk'd wi' shoes a-meaede to sheen | 8 | ········ |
| So black an' bright's a vull-ripe slooe | 8 | ········ |
| We then did hear the tongue ov air | 8 | ········ |
| A-mocken mother's vaice so thin, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Come, now the bell do goo vor pray'r" | 8 | ········ |
| --vor pray'r; | 2 | ·· |
| "'Tis time to goo to church; come in" | 8 | ········ |
| --come in. | 2 | ·· |
| The night when little Anne, that died, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Begun to zicken, back in May, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| An' she, at dusk ov evenen-tide, | 9 | ········· |
| Wer out wi' others at their play, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Within the churchyard that do keep | 8 | ···/···· |
| Her little bed, the vaice o' thin | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Dark air, mock'd mother's call "To sleep" | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| --to sleep; | 2 | ·· |
| "'Tis bed time now, my love, come in" | 8 | ········ |
| --come in. | 2 | ·· |
| An' when our Jeaene come out so smart | 8 | ··/····· |
| A-married, an' we help'd her in | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To Henry's newly-painted cart, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| The while the wheels begun to spin, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| An' her gay nods, vor all she smil'd, | 8 | ········ |
| Did sheaeke a tear-drop vrom each eye, | 8 | ········ |
| The vaice mock'd mother's call, "Dear child" | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| --dear child; | 2 | ·· |
| "God bless ye evermwore; good bye" | 8 | ········ |
| --good bye. | 2 | ·· |
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.