The Farmer's Woldest D[=A]'Ter
No, no! I ben't a-runnen downThe pretty maiden's o' the town,Nor wishen o'm noo harm;But she that I would marry vu'st,To sheaere my good luck or my crust,'S a-bred up at a farm.In town, a maid do zee mwore life,An' I don't under-reaete her;But ten to woone the sprackest wife'S a farmer's woldest d[=a]'ter.
Vor she do veed, wi' tender ceaere,The little woones, an' peaert their heaeir,An' keep em neat an' pirty;An' keep the saucy little chapsO' bwoys in trim wi' dreats an' slaps,When they be wild an' dirty.Zoo if you'd have a bus'len wife,An' childern well look'd after,The maid to help ye all drough life'S a farmer's woldest d[=a]'ter.
An' she can iorn up an' vwoldA book o' clothes wi' young or wold,An' zalt an' roll the butter;An' meaeke brown bread, an' elder wine,An' zalt down meat in pans o' brine,An' do what you can put her.Zoo if you've wherewi', an' would vindA wife wo'th looken [=a]'ter,Goo an' get a farmer in the mindTo gi'e ye his woldest d[=a]'ter.
Her heart's so innocent an' kind,She idden thoughtless, but do mindHer mother an' her duty;An' liven blushes, that do spreadUpon her healthy feaece o' red,Do heighten all her beauty;So quick's a bird, so neat's a cat,So cheerful in her neaetur,The best o' maidens to come at'S a farmer's woldest d[=a]'ter.
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.]
- heighten v. t.
- To make high; to raise higher; to elevate.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Farmer's Woldest D[=A]'Ter 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 Farmer's Woldest D[=A]'Ter, 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-farmer-s-woldest-d-a-ter.html, id L02124.
Form and metre
The Farmer's Woldest D[=A]'Ter is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 AABCCBD-D- downA · townA · harmB · vu'stC · crustC · farmB · lifeD · her · wifeD · d[=a]'ter
- 2 AABCCBD-D- ceaereA · heaeirA · pirtyB · chapsC · slapsC · dirtyB · wifeD · after · lifeD · d[=a]'ter
- 3 AA-BB-CDCD vwoldA · woldA · butter · wineB · brineB · her · vindC · =a]'terD · mindC · d[=a]'terD
- 4 AABCCBD-D- kindA · mindA · dutyB · spreadC · redC · beautyB · catD · neaetur · atD · d[=a]'ter
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No, no! I ben't a-runnen down | 8 | ········ |
| The pretty maiden's o' the town, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Nor wishen o'm noo harm; | 6 | ······ |
| But she that I would marry vu'st, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To sheaere my good luck or my crust, | 8 | ········ |
| 'S a-bred up at a farm. | 7 | ······· |
| In town, a maid do zee mwore life, | 8 | ········ |
| An' I don't under-reaete her; | 7 | ······· |
| But ten to woone the sprackest wife | 8 | ········ |
| 'S a farmer's woldest d[=a]'ter. | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| Vor she do veed, wi' tender ceaere, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The little woones, an' peaert their heaeir, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' keep em neat an' pirty; | 7 | ······· |
| An' keep the saucy little chaps | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| O' bwoys in trim wi' dreats an' slaps, | 8 | ········ |
| When they be wild an' dirty. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Zoo if you'd have a bus'len wife, | 8 | ········ |
| An' childern well look'd after, | 7 | ······· |
| The maid to help ye all drough life | 8 | ········ |
| 'S a farmer's woldest d[=a]'ter. | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| An' she can iorn up an' vwold | 7 | ······· |
| A book o' clothes wi' young or wold, | 8 | ········ |
| An' zalt an' roll the butter; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' meaeke brown bread, an' elder wine, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' zalt down meat in pans o' brine, | 8 | ········ |
| An' do what you can put her. | 7 | ······· |
| Zoo if you've wherewi', an' would vind | 9 | ········· |
| A wife wo'th looken [=a]'ter, | 7 | ······· |
| Goo an' get a farmer in the mind | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| To gi'e ye his woldest d[=a]'ter. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Her heart's so innocent an' kind, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| She idden thoughtless, but do mind | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Her mother an' her duty; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| An' liven blushes, that do spread | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Upon her healthy feaece o' red, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Do heighten all her beauty; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| So quick's a bird, so neat's a cat, | 8 | ········ |
| So cheerful in her neaetur, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The best o' maidens to come at | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'S a farmer's woldest d[=a]'ter. | 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.