The Lovely Maid Ov Elwell Meaed
A maid wi' many gifts o' greaece,A maid wi' ever-smilen feaece,A child o' yours my chilhood's pleaece,O leaenen lawns ov Allen;'S a-walken where your stream do flow,A-blushen where your flowers do blow,A-smilen where your zun do glow,O leaenen lawns ov Allen.An' good, however good's a-waigh'd,'S the lovely maid ov Elwell Meaed.
An' oh! if I could teaeme an' guideThe winds above the e'th, an' rideAs light as shooten stars do glide,O leaenen lawns ov Allen,To you I'd teaeke my daily flight,Drough dark'nen air in evenen's light,An' bid her every night "Good night,"O leaenen lawns ov Allen.Vor good, however good's a-waigh'd,'S the lovely maid ov Elwell Meaed.
An' when your hedges' slooes be blue,By blackberries o' dark'nen hue,An' spiders' webs behung wi' dew,O leaenen lawns ov AllenAvore the winter air's a-chill'd,Avore your winter brook's a-vill'dAvore your zummer flow'rs be kill'd,O leaenen lawns ov Allen;I there would meet, in white array'd,The lovely maid ov Elwell Meaed.
For when the zun, as birds do rise,Do cast their sheaedes vrom autum' skies,A-sparklen in her dewy eyes,O leaenen lawns ov AllenThen all your mossy paths belowThe trees, wi' leaves a-vallen slow,Like zinken fleaekes o' yollow snow,O leaenen lawns ov Allen.Would be mwore teaeken where they stray'dThe lovely maid ov Elwell Meaed.
About this text
The Lovely Maid Ov Elwell Meaed 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 Lovely Maid Ov Elwell Meaed, 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-lovely-maid-ov-elwell-meaed.html, id L02176.
Form and metre
The Lovely Maid Ov Elwell Meaed is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% 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 AAABCCCB-- greaeceA · feaeceA · pleaeceA · allenB · flowC · blowC · glowC · allenB · waigh'd · meaed
- 2 AAABCCCB-- guideA · rideA · glideA · allenB · flightC · lightC · nightC · allenB · waigh'd · meaed
- 3 AAABCCCB-- blueA · hueA · dewA · allenB · chill'dC · vill'dC · kill'dC · allenB · array'd · meaed
- 4 AAABCCCB-- riseA · skiesA · eyesA · allenB · belowC · slowC · snowC · allenB · stray'd · meaed
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A maid wi' many gifts o' greaece, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A maid wi' ever-smilen feaece, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A child o' yours my chilhood's pleaece, | 8 | ········ |
| O leaenen lawns ov Allen; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| 'S a-walken where your stream do flow, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| A-blushen where your flowers do blow, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| A-smilen where your zun do glow, | 8 | ········ |
| O leaenen lawns ov Allen. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| An' good, however good's a-waigh'd, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'S the lovely maid ov Elwell Meaed. | 9 | ··/˘··˘/· |
| An' oh! if I could teaeme an' guide | 8 | ········ |
| The winds above the e'th, an' ride | 8 | ········ |
| As light as shooten stars do glide, | 8 | ········ |
| O leaenen lawns ov Allen, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| To you I'd teaeke my daily flight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Drough dark'nen air in evenen's light, | 9 | ········· |
| An' bid her every night "Good night," | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O leaenen lawns ov Allen. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Vor good, however good's a-waigh'd, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'S the lovely maid ov Elwell Meaed. | 9 | ··/˘··˘/· |
| An' when your hedges' slooes be blue, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By blackberries o' dark'nen hue, | 8 | ·/·˘···· |
| An' spiders' webs behung wi' dew, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O leaenen lawns ov Allen | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Avore the winter air's a-chill'd, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Avore your winter brook's a-vill'd | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Avore your zummer flow'rs be kill'd, | 8 | ········ |
| O leaenen lawns ov Allen; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I there would meet, in white array'd, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The lovely maid ov Elwell Meaed. | 8 | ·/˘··˘/· |
| For when the zun, as birds do rise, | 8 | ········ |
| Do cast their sheaedes vrom autum' skies, | 8 | ········ |
| A-sparklen in her dewy eyes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O leaenen lawns ov Allen | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Then all your mossy paths below | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The trees, wi' leaves a-vallen slow, | 8 | ········ |
| Like zinken fleaekes o' yollow snow, | 8 | ········ |
| O leaenen lawns ov Allen. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Would be mwore teaeken where they stray'd | 8 | ········ |
| The lovely maid ov Elwell Meaed. | 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.