The Heare
(1) There be the greyhounds! lo'k! an' there's the heaere!(2) What houn's, the squier's, Thomas? where, then, where?
(1) Why, out in Ash Hill, near the barn, behindThik tree. (3) The pollard? (1) Pollard! no, b'ye blind?(2) There, I do zee em over-right thik cow.(3) The red woone? (1) No, a mile beyand her now.(3) Oh! there's the heaere, a-meaeken for the drong.(2) My goodness! How the dogs do zweep along,A-poken out their pweinted noses' tips.(3) He can't allow hizzelf much time vor slips!(1) They'll hab'en, after all, I'll bet a crown.(2) Done vor a crown. They woon't! He's gwaein to groun'.(3) He is! (1) He idden! (3) Ah! 'tis well his tooesHa' got noo corns, inside o' hobnail shoes.(1) He's geaeme a runnen too. Why, he do mworeThan eaern his life. (3) His life wer his avore.(1) There, now the dogs wull turn en. (2) No! He's right.(1) He idden! (2) Ees he is! (3) He's out o' zight.(1) Aye, aye. His mettle wull be well a-triedAgwain down Verny Hill, o' tother zide.They'll have en there. (3) O no! a vew good hopsWull teaeke en on to Knapton Lower Copse.(2) An' that's a meesh that he've a-took avore.(3) Ees, that's his hwome. (1) He'll never reach his door.(2) He wull. (1) He woon't. (3) Now, hark, d'ye heaer em now?(2) O! here's a bwoy a-come athirt the browO' Knapton Hill. We'll ax en. (1) Here, my bwoy!Can'st tell us where's the heaere? (4) He's got awoy.(2) Ees, got awoy, in coo'se, I never zeedA heaere a-scoten on wi' half his speed.(1) Why, there, the dogs be wold, an' half a-done.They can't catch anything wi' lags to run.(2) Vrom vu'st to last they had but little chanceO' catchen o'n. (3) They had a perty dance.(1) No, catch en, no! I little thought they would;He know'd his road too well to Knapton Wood.(3) No! no! I wish the squier would let me feaereOn rabbits till his hounds do catch thik heaere.
Words in this poem
- pollard n.
- A tree having its top cut off at some height above the ground, that may throw out branches. Pennant. [From Poll the head.]
- hobnail n.
- A short, sharp-pointed, large-headed nail, -- used in shoeing houses and for studding the soles of heavy shoes. [1st hob + nail.]
- copse n.
- A wood of small growth; a thicket of brushwood. See Coppice. [Contr. from coppice.]
- 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.]
- squier n.
- A square. See 1st Squire.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Heare 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 Heare, 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-heare.html, id L02251.
Form and metre
The Heare is 38 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 84% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, 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 10.0 syllables. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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.
- 2 AABBCCDD----EEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPP behindA · blindA · cowB · nowB · drongC · alongC · tipsD · slipsD · crown · groun · tooes · shoes · mworeE · avoreE · rightF · zightF · triedG · zideG · hopsH · copseH · avoreI · doorI · nowJ · browJ · bwoyK · awoyK · zeedL · speedL · doneM · runM · chanceN · danceN · wouldO · woodO · feaereP · heaereP
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| (1) There be the greyhounds! lo'k! an' there's the heaere! | 10 | ···/······ |
| (2) What houn's, the squier's, Thomas? where, then, where? | 9 | ···//˘··· |
| (1) Why, out in Ash Hill, near the barn, behind | 10 | ·········· |
| Thik tree. (3) The pollard? (1) Pollard! no, b'ye blind? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| (2) There, I do zee em over-right thik cow. | 9 | ········· |
| (3) The red woone? (1) No, a mile beyand her now. | 9 | ········· |
| (3) Oh! there's the heaere, a-meaeken for the drong. | 10 | ·········· |
| (2) My goodness! How the dogs do zweep along, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| A-poken out their pweinted noses' tips. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| (3) He can't allow hizzelf much time vor slips! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| (1) They'll hab'en, after all, I'll bet a crown. | 10 | ·········· |
| (2) Done vor a crown. They woon't! He's gwaein to groun'. | 10 | ·········· |
| (3) He is! (1) He idden! (3) Ah! 'tis well his tooes | 10 | ·········· |
| Ha' got noo corns, inside o' hobnail shoes. | 10 | ····˘/·/·· |
| (1) He's geaeme a runnen too. Why, he do mwore | 10 | ·········· |
| Than eaern his life. (3) His life wer his avore. | 10 | ·········· |
| (1) There, now the dogs wull turn en. (2) No! He's right. | 11 | ··········· |
| (1) He idden! (2) Ees he is! (3) He's out o' zight. | 10 | ·········· |
| (1) Aye, aye. His mettle wull be well a-tried | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Agwain down Verny Hill, o' tother zide. | 10 | ·········· |
| They'll have en there. (3) O no! a vew good hops | 10 | ·········· |
| Wull teaeke en on to Knapton Lower Copse. | 10 | ······/˘/· |
| (2) An' that's a meesh that he've a-took avore. | 10 | ·········· |
| (3) Ees, that's his hwome. (1) He'll never reach his door. | 9 | ·····/··· |
| (2) He wull. (1) He woon't. (3) Now, hark, d'ye heaer em now? | 11 | ··········· |
| (2) O! here's a bwoy a-come athirt the brow | 10 | ·········· |
| O' Knapton Hill. We'll ax en. (1) Here, my bwoy! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Can'st tell us where's the heaere? (4) He's got awoy. | 10 | ·········· |
| (2) Ees, got awoy, in coo'se, I never zeed | 9 | ·······/· |
| A heaere a-scoten on wi' half his speed. | 10 | ·········· |
| (1) Why, there, the dogs be wold, an' half a-done. | 10 | ·········· |
| They can't catch anything wi' lags to run. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| (2) Vrom vu'st to last they had but little chance | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| O' catchen o'n. (3) They had a perty dance. | 10 | ·········· |
| (1) No, catch en, no! I little thought they would; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| He know'd his road too well to Knapton Wood. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| (3) No! no! I wish the squier would let me feaere | 12 | ·····/······ |
| On rabbits till his hounds do catch thik heaere. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
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