The May-Tree
I've a-come by the May-tree all times o' the year,When leaves wer a-springen,When vrost wer a-stingen,When cool-winded mornen did show the hills clear,When night wer bedimmen the vields vur an' near.
When, in zummer, his head wer as white as a sheet,Wi' white buds a-zwellen,An' blossom, sweet-smellen,While leaves wi' green leaves on his bough-zides did meet,A-sheaeden the deaeisies down under our veet.
When the zun, in the Fall, wer a-wanderen wan,An' haws on his headDid sprinkle en red,Or bright drops o' rain wer a-hung loosely on,To the tips o' the sprigs when the scud wer a-gone.
An' when, in the winter, the zun did goo low,An' keen win' did huffle,But never could ruffleThe hard vrozen feaece o' the water below,His limbs wer a-fringed wi' the vrost or the snow.
Words in this poem
- scud v. i.
- To move swiftly; especially, to move as if driven forward by something. [Dan. skyde to shoot, shove, push, akin to skud shot, gunshot, a shoot, young bough, and to E. shoot. sq. root159. See Shoot.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The May-Tree 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 May-Tree, 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-may-tree.html, id L02204.
Form and metre
The May-Tree is 20 lines in 4 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBAA, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic 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 ABBAA yearA · springenB · stingenB · clearA · nearA
- 2 ABBAA sheetA · zwellenB · smellenB · meetA · veetA
- 3 ABBA- wanA · headB · redB · onA · gone
- 4 ABBAA lowA · huffleB · ruffleB · belowA · snowA
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I've a-come by the May-tree all times o' the year, | 12 | ············ |
| When leaves wer a-springen, | 6 | ······ |
| When vrost wer a-stingen, | 6 | ······ |
| When cool-winded mornen did show the hills clear, | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| When night wer bedimmen the vields vur an' near. | 11 | ··········· |
| When, in zummer, his head wer as white as a sheet, | 12 | ············ |
| Wi' white buds a-zwellen, | 6 | ······ |
| An' blossom, sweet-smellen, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| While leaves wi' green leaves on his bough-zides did meet, | 11 | ··········· |
| A-sheaeden the deaeisies down under our veet. | 10 | ········/· |
| When the zun, in the Fall, wer a-wanderen wan, | 12 | ············ |
| An' haws on his head | 5 | ····· |
| Did sprinkle en red, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Or bright drops o' rain wer a-hung loosely on, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| To the tips o' the sprigs when the scud wer a-gone. | 12 | ············ |
| An' when, in the winter, the zun did goo low, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| An' keen win' did huffle, | 6 | ······ |
| But never could ruffle | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| The hard vrozen feaece o' the water below, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| His limbs wer a-fringed wi' the vrost or the snow. | 11 | ··········· |
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.