The Hedger
Upon the hedge theaese bank did bear,Wi' lwonesome thought untwold in words,I woonce did work, wi' noo sound thereBut my own strokes, an' chirpen birds;As down the west the zun went wan,An' days brought on our Zunday's rest,When sounds o' cheemen bells did villThe air, an' hook an' axe wer still.
Along the wold town-path vo'k went,An' met unknown, or friend wi' friend,The maid her busy mother zent,The mother wi' noo maid to zend;An' in the light the gleaezier's glass,As he did pass, wer dazzlen bright,Or woone went by wi' down-cast head,A wrapp'd in blackness vor the dead.
An' then the bank, wi' risen back,That's now a-most a-trodden down,Bore thorns wi' rind o' sheeny black,An' meaeple stems o' ribby brown;An' in the lewth o' theaese tree heads,Wer primrwose beds a-sprung in blooth,An' here a geaete, a-slammen to,Did let the slow-wheel'd plough roll drough.
Ov all that then went by, but vewBe now a-left behine', to beaetThe mornen flow'rs or evenen dew,Or slam the woaken vive-bar'd geaete;But woone, my wife, so litty-stepp'd,That have a-kept my path o' life,Wi' her vew errands on the road,Where woonce she bore her mother's lwoad.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- vill n.
- A small collection of houses; a village. [OF. ville, vile, a village, F. ville a town, city. See Villa.]
- 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.]
- sheeny a.
- Bright; shining; radiant; sheen.
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
- slam v. t.
- To shut with force and a loud noise; to bang; as, he slammed the door. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. slamra, slambra, sl, Norw. slemba, slemma, dial. Sw. slämma.]
- vive a.
- Lively; animated; forcible. [L. vivus: cf. F. vif. See Vivid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Hedger 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 Hedger, 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-hedger.html, id L02263.
Form and metre
The Hedger is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 12% 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 ABAB--CC bearA · wordsB · thereA · birdsB · wan · rest · villC · stillC
- 2 ABAB--CC wentA · friendB · zentA · zendB · glass · bright · headC · deadC
- 3 ABAB---- backA · downB · blackA · brownB · heads · blooth · to · drough
- 4 -A-A--BB vew · beaetA · dew · geaeteA · stepp'd · life · roadB · lwoadB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Upon the hedge theaese bank did bear, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' lwonesome thought untwold in words, | 9 | ········· |
| I woonce did work, wi' noo sound there | 8 | ········ |
| But my own strokes, an' chirpen birds; | 8 | ········ |
| As down the west the zun went wan, | 8 | ········ |
| An' days brought on our Zunday's rest, | 8 | ····/··· |
| When sounds o' cheemen bells did vill | 8 | ········ |
| The air, an' hook an' axe wer still. | 8 | ········ |
| Along the wold town-path vo'k went, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| An' met unknown, or friend wi' friend, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The maid her busy mother zent, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The mother wi' noo maid to zend; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' in the light the gleaezier's glass, | 8 | ········ |
| As he did pass, wer dazzlen bright, | 8 | ········ |
| Or woone went by wi' down-cast head, | 8 | ········ |
| A wrapp'd in blackness vor the dead. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' then the bank, wi' risen back, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That's now a-most a-trodden down, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Bore thorns wi' rind o' sheeny black, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' meaeple stems o' ribby brown; | 8 | ········ |
| An' in the lewth o' theaese tree heads, | 8 | ········ |
| Wer primrwose beds a-sprung in blooth, | 8 | ········ |
| An' here a geaete, a-slammen to, | 8 | ········ |
| Did let the slow-wheel'd plough roll drough. | 8 | ········ |
| Ov all that then went by, but vew | 8 | ········ |
| Be now a-left behine', to beaet | 8 | ········ |
| The mornen flow'rs or evenen dew, | 9 | ········· |
| Or slam the woaken vive-bar'd geaete; | 8 | ········ |
| But woone, my wife, so litty-stepp'd, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That have a-kept my path o' life, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' her vew errands on the road, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where woonce she bore her mother's lwoad. | 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.