The Evenen Star o' Zummer
When vu'st along theaese road vrom mill,I zeed ye hwome all up the hill,The poplar tree, so straight an' tall,Did rustle by the watervall;An' in the leaeze the cows wer allA-lyen down to teaeke their restAn' slowly zunk toward the westThe evenen star o' zummer.
In parrock there the hay did lieIn weaele below the elems, dry;An' up in hwome-groun' Jim, that know'dWe all should come along thik road,D a-tied the grass in knots that drow'dPoor Poll, a-watchen in the WestWoone brighter star than all the rest,--The evenen star o' zummer.
The stars that still do zet an' rise,Did sheen in our forefather's eyes;They glitter'd to the vu'st men's zight,The last will have em in their night;But who can vind em half so brightAs I thought thik peaele star aboveMy smilen Jeaene, my zweet vu'st love,The evenen star o' zummer.
How sweet's the mornen fresh an' new,Wi' sparklen brooks an' glitt'ren dew;How sweet's the noon wi' sheaedes a-drow'dUpon the groun' but leaetely mow'd,An' bloomen flowers all abrode;But sweeter still, as I do clim',Theaese woody hill in evenen dim'S the evenen star o' zummer.
Words in this poem
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
- parrock n.
- A croft, or small field; a paddock. [AS. pearruc, pearroc. See Park.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Evenen Star o' Zummer 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 Evenen Star o' Zummer, 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-evenen-star-o-zummer.html, id L02071.
Form and metre
The Evenen Star o' Zummer is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 34% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBBCC- millA · hillA · tallB · watervallB · allB · restC · westC · zummer
- 2 AABBBCC- lieA · dryA · know'dB · roadB · drow'dB · westC · restC · zummer
- 3 AABBBCC- riseA · eyesA · zightB · nightB · brightB · aboveC · loveC · zummer
- 4 AABBBCC- newA · dewA · drow'dB · mow'dB · abrodeB · climC · dimC · zummer
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When vu'st along theaese road vrom mill, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| I zeed ye hwome all up the hill, | 8 | ········ |
| The poplar tree, so straight an' tall, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did rustle by the watervall; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' in the leaeze the cows wer all | 8 | ········ |
| A-lyen down to teaeke their rest | 7 | ······· |
| An' slowly zunk toward the west | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The evenen star o' zummer. | 8 | ········ |
| In parrock there the hay did lie | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In weaele below the elems, dry; | 9 | ········· |
| An' up in hwome-groun' Jim, that know'd | 8 | ········ |
| We all should come along thik road, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| D a-tied the grass in knots that drow'd | 9 | ········· |
| Poor Poll, a-watchen in the West | 8 | ········ |
| Woone brighter star than all the rest,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The evenen star o' zummer. | 8 | ········ |
| The stars that still do zet an' rise, | 8 | ········ |
| Did sheen in our forefather's eyes; | 8 | ···//·˘· |
| They glitter'd to the vu'st men's zight, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The last will have em in their night; | 8 | ········ |
| But who can vind em half so bright | 8 | ········ |
| As I thought thik peaele star above | 9 | ········· |
| My smilen Jeaene, my zweet vu'st love, | 8 | ········ |
| The evenen star o' zummer. | 8 | ········ |
| How sweet's the mornen fresh an' new, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' sparklen brooks an' glitt'ren dew; | 8 | ········ |
| How sweet's the noon wi' sheaedes a-drow'd | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the groun' but leaetely mow'd, | 9 | ········· |
| An' bloomen flowers all abrode; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But sweeter still, as I do clim', | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Theaese woody hill in evenen dim | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| 'S the evenen star o' zummer. | 9 | ········· |
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.