The Milk-Maid o' the Farm
O Poll's the milk-maid o' the farm!An' Poll's so happy out in groun',Wi' her white pail below her eaermAs if she wore a goolden crown.
An' Poll don't zit up half the night,Nor lie vor half the day a-bed;An' zoo her eyes be sparklen bright,An' zoo her cheaeks be bloomen red.
In zummer mornens, when the larkDo rouse the litty lad an' lassTo work, then she's the vu'st to markHer steps along the dewy grass.
An' in the evenen, when the zunDo sheen ageaen the western browsO' hills, where bubblen brooks do run,There she do zing bezide her cows.
An' ev'ry cow of hers do stand,An' never overzet her pail;Nor try to kick her nimble hand,Nor switch her wi' her heavy tail.
Noo leaedy, wi' her muff an' vail,Do walk wi' sich a steaetely treadAs she do, wi' her milken pailA-balanc'd on her comely head.
An' she, at mornen an' at night,Do skim the yollow cream, an' mwoldAn' wring her cheeses red an' white,An' zee the butter vetch'd an' roll'd.
An' in the barken or the ground,The chaps do always do their bestTo milk the vu'st their own cows round,An' then help her to milk the rest.
Zoo Poll's the milk-maid o' the farm!An' Poll's so happy out in groun',Wi' her white pail below her eaerm,As if she wore a goolden crown.
Words in this poem
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- muff n.
- A soft cover of cylindrical form, usually of fur, worn by women to shield the hands from cold. [Cf. LG. muff, D. mof, G., Dan., & Sw. muff, F. moufle mitten, LL. muffula, MHG. mouwe sleeve, D. mouw, and E. muffle, v.]
- vail n.
- Avails; profit; return; proceeds. [Aphetic form of avail, n.]
- milken a.
- Consisting of milk.
- barken a.
- Made of bark. Whittier.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Milk-Maid o' the Farm 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 Milk-Maid o' the Farm, 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-milk-maid-o-the-farm.html, id L02043.
Form and metre
The Milk-Maid o' the Farm is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 28% 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 A-A- farmA · groun · eaermA · crown
- 2 ABAB nightA · bedB · brightA · redB
- 3 ABAB larkA · lassB · markA · grassB
- 4 -A-A zun · browsA · run · cowsA
- 5 ABAB standA · pailB · handA · tailB
- 6 ABAB vailA · treadB · pailA · headB
- 7 ABAB nightA · mwoldB · whiteA · roll'dB
- 8 ABAB groundA · bestB · roundA · restB
- 9 A-A- farmA · groun · eaermA · crown
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O Poll's the milk-maid o' the farm! | 8 | ········ |
| An' Poll's so happy out in groun', | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' her white pail below her eaerm | 8 | ········ |
| As if she wore a goolden crown. | 8 | ········ |
| An' Poll don't zit up half the night, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor lie vor half the day a-bed; | 8 | ········ |
| An' zoo her eyes be sparklen bright, | 8 | ········ |
| An' zoo her cheaeks be bloomen red. | 8 | ········ |
| In zummer mornens, when the lark | 8 | ········ |
| Do rouse the litty lad an' lass | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To work, then she's the vu'st to mark | 8 | ········ |
| Her steps along the dewy grass. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| An' in the evenen, when the zun | 9 | ········· |
| Do sheen ageaen the western brows | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O' hills, where bubblen brooks do run, | 8 | ········ |
| There she do zing bezide her cows. | 8 | ········ |
| An' ev'ry cow of hers do stand, | 8 | ········ |
| An' never overzet her pail; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Nor try to kick her nimble hand, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor switch her wi' her heavy tail. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Noo leaedy, wi' her muff an' vail, | 8 | ········ |
| Do walk wi' sich a steaetely tread | 11 | ··········· |
| As she do, wi' her milken pail | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-balanc'd on her comely head. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' she, at mornen an' at night, | 8 | ········ |
| Do skim the yollow cream, an' mwold | 8 | ········ |
| An' wring her cheeses red an' white, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' zee the butter vetch'd an' roll'd. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' in the barken or the ground, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The chaps do always do their best | 8 | ···/···· |
| To milk the vu'st their own cows round, | 8 | ········ |
| An' then help her to milk the rest. | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo Poll's the milk-maid o' the farm! | 8 | ········ |
| An' Poll's so happy out in groun', | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' her white pail below her eaerm, | 8 | ········ |
| As if she wore a goolden crown. | 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.