The Rwose in the Dark
In zummer, leaete at evenen tide,I zot to spend a moonless hour'Ithin the window, wi' the zideA-bound wi' rwoses out in flow'r,Bezide the bow'r, vorsook o' birds,An' listen'd to my true-love's words.
A-risen to her comely height,She push'd the swingen ceaesement round;And I could hear, beyond my zight,The win'-blow'd beech-tree softly sound,On higher ground, a-swayen slow,On drough my happy hour below.
An' tho' the darkness then did hideThe dewy rwose's blushen bloom,He still did cast sweet air insideTo Jeaene, a-chatten in the room;An' though the gloom did hide her feaece,Her words did bind me to the pleaece.
An' there, while she, wi' runnen tongue,Did talk unzeen 'ithin the hall,I thought her like the rwose that flungHis sweetness vrom his darken'd ball,'Ithout the wall, an' sweet's the zightOv her bright feaece by mornen light.
Words in this poem
- moonless a.
- Being without a moon or moonlight.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Rwose in the Dark 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 Rwose in the Dark, 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-rwose-in-the-dark.html, id L02278.
Form and metre
The Rwose in the Dark is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. 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 8.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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-BB tideA · hour · zideA · flow'r · birdsB · wordsB
- 2 ABABCC heightA · roundB · zightA · soundB · slowC · belowC
- 3 ABABCC hideA · bloomB · insideA · roomB · feaeceC · pleaeceC
- 4 ABABCC tongueA · hallB · flungA · ballB · zightC · lightC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In zummer, leaete at evenen tide, | 9 | ········· |
| I zot to spend a moonless hour | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| 'Ithin the window, wi' the zide | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-bound wi' rwoses out in flow'r, | 8 | ········ |
| Bezide the bow'r, vorsook o' birds, | 8 | ········ |
| An' listen'd to my true-love's words. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A-risen to her comely height, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| She push'd the swingen ceaesement round; | 9 | ········· |
| And I could hear, beyond my zight, | 8 | ········ |
| The win'-blow'd beech-tree softly sound, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On higher ground, a-swayen slow, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On drough my happy hour below. | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| An' tho' the darkness then did hide | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The dewy rwose's blushen bloom, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He still did cast sweet air inside | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To Jeaene, a-chatten in the room; | 8 | ········ |
| An' though the gloom did hide her feaece, | 8 | ········ |
| Her words did bind me to the pleaece. | 8 | ········ |
| An' there, while she, wi' runnen tongue, | 8 | ········ |
| Did talk unzeen 'ithin the hall, | 8 | ········ |
| I thought her like the rwose that flung | 8 | ········ |
| His sweetness vrom his darken'd ball, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| 'Ithout the wall, an' sweet's the zight | 8 | ········ |
| Ov her bright feaece by mornen light. | 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.