The Shepherd o' the Farm
Oh! I be shepherd o' the farm,Wi' tinklen bells an' sheep-dog's bark,An' wi' my crook a-thirt my eaerm,Here I do rove below the lark.
An' I do bide all day amongThe bleaeten sheep, an' pitch their vwold;An' when the evenen sheaedes be long,Do zee em all a-penn'd an' twold.
An' I do zee the frisken lam's,Wi' swingen tails an' woolly lags,A-playen roun' their veeden damsAn' pullen o' their milky bags.
An' I bezide a hawthorn tree,Do' zit upon the zunny down,While sheaedes o' zummer clouds do vleeWi' silent flight along the groun'.
An' there, among the many criesO' sheep an' lambs, my dog do passA zultry hour, wi' blinken eyes,An' nose a-stratch'd upon the grass;
But, in a twinklen, at my word,He's all awake, an' up, an' goneOut roun' the sheep lik' any bird,To do what he's a-zent upon.
An' I do goo to washen pool,A-sousen over head an' ears,The shaggy sheep, to cleaen their woolAn' meaeke em ready vor the sheaers.
An' when the shearen time do come,Then we do work vrom dawn till dark;Where zome do shear the sheep, and zomeDo mark their zides wi' meaesters mark.
An' when the shearen's all a-done,Then we do eat, an' drink, an' zing,In meaester's kitchen till the tunWi' merry sounds do sheaeke an' ring.
Oh! I be shepherd o' the farm,Wi' tinklen bells an' sheep dog's bark,An' wi' my crook a-thirt my eaerm,Here I do rove below the lark.
Words in this poem
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Shepherd 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 Shepherd 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-shepherd-o-the-farm.html, id L02055.
Form and metre
The Shepherd o' the Farm is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 4 of the 10 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. 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. 22% 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 ABAB farmA · barkB · eaermA · larkB
- 2 -A-A among · vwoldA · long · twoldA
- 3 ABAB lam'sA · lagsB · damsA · bagsB
- 4 A-A- treeA · down · vleeA · groun
- 5 ABAB criesA · passB · eyesA · grassB
- 6 A-A- wordA · gone · birdA · upon
- 7 -A-A pool · earsA · wool · sheaersA
- 8 -A-A come · darkA · zome · markA
- 9 -A-A done · zingA · tun · ringA
- 10 ABAB farmA · barkB · eaermA · larkB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh! I be shepherd o' the farm, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' tinklen bells an' sheep-dog's bark, | 8 | ········ |
| An' wi' my crook a-thirt my eaerm, | 8 | ········ |
| Here I do rove below the lark. | 8 | ········ |
| An' I do bide all day among | 8 | ········ |
| The bleaeten sheep, an' pitch their vwold; | 8 | ········ |
| An' when the evenen sheaedes be long, | 9 | ········· |
| Do zee em all a-penn'd an' twold. | 8 | ········ |
| An' I do zee the frisken lam's, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' swingen tails an' woolly lags, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-playen roun' their veeden dams | 7 | ······· |
| An' pullen o' their milky bags. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' I bezide a hawthorn tree, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Do' zit upon the zunny down, | 8 | ········ |
| While sheaedes o' zummer clouds do vlee | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' silent flight along the groun'. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| An' there, among the many cries | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O' sheep an' lambs, my dog do pass | 8 | ········ |
| A zultry hour, wi' blinken eyes, | 8 | ···/···· |
| An' nose a-stratch'd upon the grass; | 8 | ········ |
| But, in a twinklen, at my word, | 8 | ········ |
| He's all awake, an' up, an' gone | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Out roun' the sheep lik' any bird, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To do what he's a-zent upon. | 8 | ········ |
| An' I do goo to washen pool, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-sousen over head an' ears, | 8 | ········ |
| The shaggy sheep, to cleaen their wool | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' meaeke em ready vor the sheaers. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' when the shearen time do come, | 8 | ········ |
| Then we do work vrom dawn till dark; | 8 | ········ |
| Where zome do shear the sheep, and zome | 8 | ········ |
| Do mark their zides wi' meaesters mark. | 8 | ········ |
| An' when the shearen's all a-done, | 8 | ········ |
| Then we do eat, an' drink, an' zing, | 8 | ········ |
| In meaester's kitchen till the tun | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' merry sounds do sheaeke an' ring. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Oh! I be shepherd o' the farm, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' tinklen bells an' sheep dog's bark, | 8 | ········ |
| An' wi' my crook a-thirt my eaerm, | 8 | ········ |
| Here I do rove below the lark. | 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.