The Rwose That Deck'd Her Breast
Poor Jenny wer her Robert's brideTwo happy years, an' then he died;An' zoo the wold vo'k meaede her come,Vorseaeken, to her maiden hwome.But Jenny's merry tongue wer dum';An' round her comely neck she woreA murnen kerchif, where avoreThe rwose did deck her breast.
She walk'd alwone, wi' eye-balls wet,To zee the flow'rs that she'd a-zet;The lilies, white's her maiden frocks,The spike, to put 'ithin her box,Wi' columbines an' hollyhocks;The jilliflow'r an' nodden pink,An' rwose that touch'd her soul to thinkOv woone that deck'd her breast.
Vor at her wedden, just avoreHer maiden hand had yet a-woreA wife's goold ring, wi' hangen headShe walk'd along thik flower-bed,Where stocks did grow, a-stained wi' red,An' meaerygoolds did skirt the walk,An' gather'd vrom the rwose's stalkA bud to deck her breast.
An' then her cheaek, wi' youthvul bloodWer bloomen as the rwoses bud;But now, as she wi' grief do pine,'Tis peaele's the milk-white jessamine.But Robert have a-left behineA little beaeby wi' his feaece,To smile, an' nessle in the pleaeceWhere the rwose did deck her breast.
Words in this poem
- jenny n.
- A familiar or pet form of the proper name Jane.
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Rwose That Deck'd Her Breast 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 That Deck'd Her Breast, 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-that-deck-d-her-breast.html, id L02131.
Form and metre
The Rwose That Deck'd Her Breast is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 34% 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 AAB-BCC- brideA · diedA · comeB · hwome · dumB · woreC · avoreC · breast
- 2 AABBBCC- wetA · zetA · frocksB · boxB · hollyhocksB · pinkC · thinkC · breast
- 3 AABBBCC- avoreA · woreA · headB · bedB · redB · walkC · stalkC · breast
- 4 AABBBCC- bloodA · budA · pineB · jessamineB · behineB · feaeceC · pleaeceC · breast
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Poor Jenny wer her Robert's bride | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Two happy years, an' then he died; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' zoo the wold vo'k meaede her come, | 8 | ········ |
| Vorseaeken, to her maiden hwome. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But Jenny's merry tongue wer dum'; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| An' round her comely neck she wore | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A murnen kerchif, where avore | 8 | ········ |
| The rwose did deck her breast. | 6 | ······ |
| She walk'd alwone, wi' eye-balls wet, | 8 | ········ |
| To zee the flow'rs that she'd a-zet; | 8 | ········ |
| The lilies, white's her maiden frocks, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The spike, to put 'ithin her box, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' columbines an' hollyhocks; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The jilliflow'r an' nodden pink, | 8 | ········ |
| An' rwose that touch'd her soul to think | 8 | ········ |
| Ov woone that deck'd her breast. | 6 | ······ |
| Vor at her wedden, just avore | 8 | ········ |
| Her maiden hand had yet a-wore | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A wife's goold ring, wi' hangen head | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She walk'd along thik flower-bed, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Where stocks did grow, a-stained wi' red, | 8 | ········ |
| An' meaerygoolds did skirt the walk, | 8 | ········ |
| An' gather'd vrom the rwose's stalk | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A bud to deck her breast. | 6 | ······ |
| An' then her cheaek, wi' youthvul blood | 8 | ········ |
| Wer bloomen as the rwoses bud; | 8 | ········ |
| But now, as she wi' grief do pine, | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis peaele's the milk-white jessamine. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| But Robert have a-left behine | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A little beaeby wi' his feaece, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To smile, an' nessle in the pleaece | 8 | ········ |
| Where the rwose did deck her breast. | 7 | ······· |
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.