The Neaeme Letters
When high-flown larks wer on the wing,A warm-air'd holiday in Spring,We stroll'd, 'ithout a ceaere or frown,Up roun' the down at Meldonley;An' where the hawthorn-tree did standAlwone, but still wi' mwore at hand,We zot wi' sheaedes o' clouds on highA-flitten by, at Meldonley.
An' there, the while the tree did sheaedeTheir gigglen heads, my knife's keen bleaedeCarved out, in turf avore my knee,J. L., *T. D., at Meldonley.'Twer Jessie Lee J. L. did meaen,T. D. did stan' vor Thomas Deaene;The "L" I scratch'd but slight, vor heMid soon be D, at Meldonley.
An' when the vields o' wheat did spreadVrom hedge to hedge in sheets o' red.An' bennets wer a-sheaeken brown.Upon the down at Meldonley,We stroll'd ageaen along the hill,An' at the hawthorn-tree stood still,To zee J. L. vor Jessie Lee,An' my T. D., at Meldonley.
The grey-poll'd bennet-stems did hemEach half-hid letter's zunken rim,By leaedy's-vingers that did spreadIn yollow red, at Meldonley.An' heaerebells there wi' light blue bellShook soundless on the letter L,To ment the bells when L vor LeeBecome a D at Meldonley.
Vor Jessie, now my wife, do striveWi' me in life, an' we do thrive;Two sleek-heaeired meaeres do sprackly pullMy waggon vull, at Meldonley;An' small-hoof'd sheep, in vleeces white,Wi' quickly-panken zides, do biteMy thymy grass, a-mark'd vor meIn black, T. D., at Meldonley.
Words in this poem
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- soundless a.
- Not capable of being sounded or fathomed; unfathomable.
- thymy a.
- Abounding with thyme; fragrant; as, a thymy vale. Akenside.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Neaeme Letters 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 Neaeme Letters, 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-neaeme-letters.html, id L02281.
Form and metre
The Neaeme Letters is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 35% 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 AA-BCC-B wingA · springA · frown · meldonleyB · standC · handC · high · meldonleyB
- 2 AABCDDBC sheaedeA · bleaedeA · kneeB · meldonleyC · meaenD · deaeneD · heB · meldonleyC
- 3 AA-BCC-B spreadA · redA · brown · meldonleyB · hillC · stillC · lee · meldonleyB
- 4 ---ABB-A hem · rim · spread · meldonleyA · bellB · lB · lee · meldonleyA
- 5 AA-BCC-B striveA · thriveA · pull · meldonleyB · whiteC · biteC · me · meldonleyB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When high-flown larks wer on the wing, | 8 | ········ |
| A warm-air'd holiday in Spring, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We stroll'd, 'ithout a ceaere or frown, | 8 | ········ |
| Up roun' the down at Meldonley; | 8 | ········ |
| An' where the hawthorn-tree did stand | 8 | ···/···· |
| Alwone, but still wi' mwore at hand, | 8 | ········ |
| We zot wi' sheaedes o' clouds on high | 8 | ········ |
| A-flitten by, at Meldonley. | 8 | ········ |
| An' there, the while the tree did sheaede | 8 | ········ |
| Their gigglen heads, my knife's keen bleaede | 8 | ········ |
| Carved out, in turf avore my knee, | 8 | ········ |
| J. L., *T. D., at Meldonley. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Twer Jessie Lee J. L. did meaen, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| T. D. did stan' vor Thomas Deaene; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The "L" I scratch'd but slight, vor he | 8 | ········ |
| Mid soon be D, at Meldonley. | 8 | ········ |
| An' when the vields o' wheat did spread | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom hedge to hedge in sheets o' red. | 8 | ········ |
| An' bennets wer a-sheaeken brown. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon the down at Meldonley, | 8 | ········ |
| We stroll'd ageaen along the hill, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| An' at the hawthorn-tree stood still, | 8 | ···/···· |
| To zee J. L. vor Jessie Lee, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' my T. D., at Meldonley. | 8 | ········ |
| The grey-poll'd bennet-stems did hem | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Each half-hid letter's zunken rim, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By leaedy's-vingers that did spread | 8 | ········ |
| In yollow red, at Meldonley. | 8 | ········ |
| An' heaerebells there wi' light blue bell | 9 | ········· |
| Shook soundless on the letter L, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To ment the bells when L vor Lee | 8 | ········ |
| Become a D at Meldonley. | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Vor Jessie, now my wife, do strive | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wi' me in life, an' we do thrive; | 8 | ········ |
| Two sleek-heaeired meaeres do sprackly pull | 8 | ········ |
| My waggon vull, at Meldonley; | 8 | ········ |
| An' small-hoof'd sheep, in vleeces white, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' quickly-panken zides, do bite | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My thymy grass, a-mark'd vor me | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In black, T. D., at Meldonley. | 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.