The Fancy Feaeir at Maiden Newton
The Frome, wi' ever-water'd brink,Do run where shelven hills do zinkWi' housen all a-cluster'd roun'The parish tow'rs below the down.An' now, vor woonce, at leaest, ov allThe pleaecen where the stream do vall,There's woone that zome to-day mid vind,Wi' things a-suited to their mind.An' that's out where the Fancy FeaeirIs on at Maiden Newton.
An' vo'k, a-smarten'd up, wull hopOut here, as ev'ry train do stop,Vrom up the line, a longish ride,An' down along the river-zide.An' zome do beaet, wi' heels an' tooes,The leaenes an' paths, in nimble shoes,An' bring, bezides, a biggish knot,Ov all their childern that can trot,A-vlocken where the Fancy FeaeirIs here at Maiden Newton.
If you should goo, to-day, avoreA Chilfrome house or Downfrome door,Or Frampton's park-zide row, or lookDrough quiet Wraxall's slopy nook,Or elbow-streeted Catt'stock, downBy Castlehill's cwold-winded crown,An' zee if vo'k be all at hwome,You'd vind em out--they be a-comeOut hither, where the Fancy FeaeirIs on at Maiden Newton.
Come, young men, come, an' here you'll vindA gift to please a maiden's mind;Come, husbands, here be gifts to pleaseYour wives, an' meaeke em smile vor days;Come, so's, an' buy at Fancy FeaeirA keepseaeke vor your friends elsewhere;You can't but stop an' spend a cweinWi' leaedies that ha' goods so fine;An' all to meake, vor childern's seaeke,The School at Maiden Newton.
Words in this poem
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- longish a.
- Somewhat long; moderately long.
- slopy a.
- Sloping; inclined.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Fancy Feaeir at Maiden Newton 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 Fancy Feaeir at Maiden Newton, 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-fancy-feaeir-at-maiden-newton.html, id L02327.
Form and metre
The Fancy Feaeir at Maiden Newton is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 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 91%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% 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 AA----BB-- brinkA · zinkA · roun · down · all · vall · vindB · mindB · feaeir · newton
- 2 AABB--CC-- hopA · stopA · rideB · zideB · tooes · shoes · knotC · trotC · feaeir · newton
- 3 AABBCC---C avoreA · doorA · lookB · nookB · downC · crownC · hwome · come · feaeir · newtonC
- 4 AA----BB-B vindA · mindA · please · days · feaeir · elsewhere · cweinB · fineB · seaeke · newtonB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Frome, wi' ever-water'd brink, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Do run where shelven hills do zink | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' housen all a-cluster'd roun' | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The parish tow'rs below the down. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' now, vor woonce, at leaest, ov all | 8 | ········ |
| The pleaecen where the stream do vall, | 8 | ········ |
| There's woone that zome to-day mid vind, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' things a-suited to their mind. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' that's out where the Fancy Feaeir | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is on at Maiden Newton. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| An' vo'k, a-smarten'd up, wull hop | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Out here, as ev'ry train do stop, | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom up the line, a longish ride, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' down along the river-zide. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| An' zome do beaet, wi' heels an' tooes, | 8 | ········ |
| The leaenes an' paths, in nimble shoes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' bring, bezides, a biggish knot, | 8 | ········ |
| Ov all their childern that can trot, | 8 | ········ |
| A-vlocken where the Fancy Feaeir | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is here at Maiden Newton. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| If you should goo, to-day, avore | 8 | ········ |
| A Chilfrome house or Downfrome door, | 8 | ········ |
| Or Frampton's park-zide row, or look | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Drough quiet Wraxall's slopy nook, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Or elbow-streeted Catt'stock, down | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| By Castlehill's cwold-winded crown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' zee if vo'k be all at hwome, | 8 | ········ |
| You'd vind em out--they be a-come | 8 | ········ |
| Out hither, where the Fancy Feaeir | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Is on at Maiden Newton. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Come, young men, come, an' here you'll vind | 8 | ········ |
| A gift to please a maiden's mind; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Come, husbands, here be gifts to please | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Your wives, an' meaeke em smile vor days; | 8 | ········ |
| Come, so's, an' buy at Fancy Feaeir | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A keepseaeke vor your friends elsewhere; | 8 | ······/· |
| You can't but stop an' spend a cwein | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' leaedies that ha' goods so fine; | 7 | ······· |
| An' all to meake, vor childern's seaeke, | 8 | ········ |
| The School at Maiden Newton. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
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