The Guide Post
Why thik wold post so long kept out,Upon the knap, his eaerms astrout,A-zenden on the weary veetBy where the dree cross roads do meet;An' I've a-come so much thik woy,Wi' happy heart, a man or bwoy,That I'd a-meaede, at last, a'mostA friend o' thik wold guiden post.
An' there, wi' woone white eaerm he show'd,Down over bridge, the Leyton road;Wi' woone, the leaene a-leaeden roun'By Bradlinch Hill, an' on to town;An' wi' the last, the way to turnDrough common down to Rushiburn,--The road I lik'd to goo the mwostOv all upon the guiden post.
The Leyton road ha' lofty ranksOv elem trees upon his banks;The woone athirt the hill do showUs miles o' hedgy meaeds below;An' he to Rushiburn is wideWi' strips o' green along his zide,An' ouer brown-ruf'd house a-mostIn zight o' thik wold guiden post.
An' when the hay-meaekers did zwarmO' zummer evenens out vrom farm.The merry maidens an' the chaps,A-peaerten there wi' jokes an' slaps,Did goo, zome woone way off, an' zomeAnother, all a-zingen hwome;Vor vew o'm had to goo, at mwost,A mile beyond the guiden post.
Poor Nanny Brown, woone darkish night,When he'd a-been a-painted white,Wer frighten'd, near the gravel pits,So dead's a hammer into fits,A-thinken 'twer the ghost she know'dDid come an' haunt the Leyton road;Though, after all, poor Nanny's ghostTurn'd out to be the guiden post.
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.]
- knap v. t.
- To bite; to bite off; to break short. [D. knappen to chew, bite, crack, take hold of; prob. of imitative origin.]
- dree v. i.
- To be able to do or endure.
- nanny n.
- A diminutive of Ann or Anne, the proper name. Nanny goat, a female goat.
- darkish a.
- Somewhat dark; dusky.
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Guide Post 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 Guide Post, 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-guide-post.html, id L02148.
Form and metre
The Guide Post is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 30% 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 AABB--CC outA · astroutA · veetB · meetB · woy · bwoy · a'mostC · postC
- 2 AA--BBCC show'dA · roadA · roun · town · turnB · rushiburnB · mwostC · postC
- 3 AABBCCDD ranksA · banksA · showB · belowB · wideC · zideC · mostD · postD
- 4 AABBCCDD zwarmA · farmA · chapsB · slapsB · zomeC · hwomeC · mwostD · postD
- 5 AABBCCDD nightA · whiteA · pitsB · fitsB · know'dC · roadC · ghostD · postD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Why thik wold post so long kept out, | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the knap, his eaerms astrout, | 8 | ········ |
| A-zenden on the weary veet | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By where the dree cross roads do meet; | 8 | ········ |
| An' I've a-come so much thik woy, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' happy heart, a man or bwoy, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That I'd a-meaede, at last, a'most | 8 | ········ |
| A friend o' thik wold guiden post. | 8 | ········ |
| An' there, wi' woone white eaerm he show'd, | 8 | ········ |
| Down over bridge, the Leyton road; | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' woone, the leaene a-leaeden roun' | 8 | ········ |
| By Bradlinch Hill, an' on to town; | 8 | ········ |
| An' wi' the last, the way to turn | 8 | ········ |
| Drough common down to Rushiburn,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The road I lik'd to goo the mwost | 8 | ········ |
| Ov all upon the guiden post. | 8 | ········ |
| The Leyton road ha' lofty ranks | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ov elem trees upon his banks; | 8 | ········ |
| The woone athirt the hill do show | 8 | ········ |
| Us miles o' hedgy meaeds below; | 8 | ········ |
| An' he to Rushiburn is wide | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' strips o' green along his zide, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| An' ouer brown-ruf'd house a-most | 7 | ······· |
| In zight o' thik wold guiden post. | 8 | ········ |
| An' when the hay-meaekers did zwarm | 8 | ········ |
| O' zummer evenens out vrom farm. | 9 | ········· |
| The merry maidens an' the chaps, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| A-peaerten there wi' jokes an' slaps, | 8 | ········ |
| Did goo, zome woone way off, an' zome | 8 | ········ |
| Another, all a-zingen hwome; | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Vor vew o'm had to goo, at mwost, | 8 | ········ |
| A mile beyond the guiden post. | 8 | ········ |
| Poor Nanny Brown, woone darkish night, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| When he'd a-been a-painted white, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wer frighten'd, near the gravel pits, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| So dead's a hammer into fits, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-thinken 'twer the ghost she know'd | 8 | ········ |
| Did come an' haunt the Leyton road; | 8 | ········ |
| Though, after all, poor Nanny's ghost | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Turn'd out to be the guiden post. | 8 | ········ |
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.