The Hwomestead
If I had all the land my zightCan overlook vrom Chalwell hill,Vrom Sherborn left to Blanvord right,Why I could be but happy still.An' I be happy wi' my spotO' freehold ground an' mossy cot,An' shoulden get a better lotIf I had all my will.
My orcha'd's wide, my trees be young;An' they do bear such heavy crops,Their boughs, lik' onion-rwopes a-hung,Be all a-trigg'd to year, wi' props.I got some geaerden groun' to dig,A parrock, an' a cow an' pig;I got zome cider vor to swig,An' eaele o' malt an' hops.
I'm landlord o' my little farm,I'm king 'ithin my little pleaece;I don't break laws, an' don't do harm,An' bent a-feaer'd o' noo man's feaece.When I'm a-cover'd wi' my thatch,Noo man do deaere to lift my latch;Where honest han's do shut the hatch,There fear do leaeve the pleaece.
My lofty elem trees do screenMy brown-ruf'd house, an' here below,My geese do strut athirt the green,An' hiss an' flap their wings o' snow;As I do walk along a rankOv apple trees, or by a bank,Or zit upon a bar or plank,To see how things do grow.
Words in this poem
- props n.
- A game of chance, in which four sea shells, each called a prop, are used instead of dice.
- parrock n.
- A croft, or small field; a paddock. [AS. pearruc, pearroc. See Park.]
- swig v. t.
- To drink in long draughts; to gulp; as, to swig cider. [Cf. D. zwelgen to swallow, E. swallow, v.t.]
- latch v. t.
- To smear; to anoint. [Cf. F. lécher to lick (of German origin). Cf. Lick.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Hwomestead 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 Hwomestead, 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-hwomestead.html, id L02123.
Form and metre
The Hwomestead is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCCCB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 16% 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 ABABCCCB zightA · hillB · rightA · stillB · spotC · cotC · lotC · willB
- 2 ABABCCCB youngA · cropsB · hungA · propsB · digC · pigC · swigC · hopsB
- 3 ABABCCCB farmA · pleaeceB · harmA · feaeceB · thatchC · latchC · hatchC · pleaeceB
- 4 ABABCCCB screenA · belowB · greenA · snowB · rankC · bankC · plankC · growB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If I had all the land my zight | 8 | ········ |
| Can overlook vrom Chalwell hill, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Vrom Sherborn left to Blanvord right, | 8 | ········ |
| Why I could be but happy still. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' I be happy wi' my spot | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O' freehold ground an' mossy cot, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| An' shoulden get a better lot | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If I had all my will. | 6 | ······ |
| My orcha'd's wide, my trees be young; | 8 | ········ |
| An' they do bear such heavy crops, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Their boughs, lik' onion-rwopes a-hung, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Be all a-trigg'd to year, wi' props. | 8 | ········ |
| I got some geaerden groun' to dig, | 8 | ········ |
| A parrock, an' a cow an' pig; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I got zome cider vor to swig, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' eaele o' malt an' hops. | 7 | ······· |
| I'm landlord o' my little farm, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| I'm king 'ithin my little pleaece; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I don't break laws, an' don't do harm, | 8 | ········ |
| An' bent a-feaer'd o' noo man's feaece. | 8 | ········ |
| When I'm a-cover'd wi' my thatch, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Noo man do deaere to lift my latch; | 8 | ········ |
| Where honest han's do shut the hatch, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There fear do leaeve the pleaece. | 6 | ······ |
| My lofty elem trees do screen | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My brown-ruf'd house, an' here below, | 8 | ········ |
| My geese do strut athirt the green, | 8 | ········ |
| An' hiss an' flap their wings o' snow; | 8 | ········ |
| As I do walk along a rank | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Ov apple trees, or by a bank, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or zit upon a bar or plank, | 8 | ········ |
| To see how things do grow. | 6 | ······ |
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.