The Slanten Light o' Fall
Ah! Jeaene, my maid, I stood to you,When you wer christen'd, small an' light,Wi' tiny eaerms o' red an' blue,A-hangen in your robe o' white.We brought ye to the hallow'd stwone,Vor Christ to teaeke ye vor his own,When harvest work wer all a-done,An' time brought round October zun--The slanten light o' Fall.
An' I can mind the wind wer rough,An' gather'd clouds, but brought noo storms,An' you did nessle warm enough,'Ithin your smilen mother's eaerms.The whindlen grass did quiver light,Among the stubble, feaeded white,An' if at times the zunlight brokeUpon the ground, or on the vo'k,'Twer slanten light o' Fall.
An' when we brought ye drough the doorO' Knapton Church, a child o' greaece,There cluster'd round a'most a scoreO' vo'k to zee your tiny feaece.An' there we all did veel so proud,To zee an' op'nen in the cloud,An' then a stream o' light break drough,A-sheenen brightly down on you--The slanten light o' Fall.
But now your time's a-come to standIn church, a-blushen at my zide,The while a bridegroom vrom my handHa' took ye vor his faithvul bride.Your christen neaeme we gi'd ye here,When Fall did cool the weaesten year;An' now, ageaen, we brought ye droughThe doorway, wi' your surneaeme new,In slanten light o' Fall.
An' zoo vur, Jeaene, your life is feaeir,An' God ha' been your steadvast friend,An' mid ye have mwore jay than ceaere,Vor ever, till your journey's end.An' I've a-watch'd ye on wi' pride,But now I soon mus' leaeve your zide,Vor you ha' still life's spring-tide zun,But my life, Jeaene, is now a-runTo slanten light o' Fall.
Words in this poem
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
- christen v. t.
- To baptize and give a Christian name to. [AS. cristnian to make a Christian, fr. cristen a Christian.]
- doorway n.
- The passage of a door; entrance way into a house or a room.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Slanten Light o' Fall 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 Slanten Light o' Fall, 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-slanten-light-o-fall.html, id L02202.
Form and metre
The Slanten Light o' Fall is 45 lines in 5 stanzas of 9 lines each. 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 8.0 syllables. 16% 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 ABABCC--- youA · lightB · blueA · whiteB · stwoneC · ownC · done · zun · fall
- 2 ABABCC--- roughA · stormsB · enoughA · eaermsB · lightC · whiteC · broke · vo'k · fall
- 3 ABABCC--- doorA · greaeceB · scoreA · feaeceB · proudC · cloudC · drough · you · fall
- 4 ABABCC--- standA · zideB · handA · brideB · hereC · yearC · drough · new · fall
- 5 ABABCC--- feaeirA · friendB · ceaereA · endB · prideC · zideC · zun · run · fall
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah! Jeaene, my maid, I stood to you, | 8 | ········ |
| When you wer christen'd, small an' light, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' tiny eaerms o' red an' blue, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A-hangen in your robe o' white. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| We brought ye to the hallow'd stwone, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vor Christ to teaeke ye vor his own, | 8 | ········ |
| When harvest work wer all a-done, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' time brought round October zun-- | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The slanten light o' Fall. | 8 | ········ |
| An' I can mind the wind wer rough, | 8 | ········ |
| An' gather'd clouds, but brought noo storms, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' you did nessle warm enough, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| 'Ithin your smilen mother's eaerms. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The whindlen grass did quiver light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Among the stubble, feaeded white, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' if at times the zunlight broke | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the ground, or on the vo'k, | 8 | ········ |
| 'Twer slanten light o' Fall. | 8 | ········ |
| An' when we brought ye drough the door | 8 | ········ |
| O' Knapton Church, a child o' greaece, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There cluster'd round a'most a score | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O' vo'k to zee your tiny feaece. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' there we all did veel so proud, | 8 | ········ |
| To zee an' op'nen in the cloud, | 8 | ········ |
| An' then a stream o' light break drough, | 8 | ········ |
| A-sheenen brightly down on you-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The slanten light o' Fall. | 8 | ········ |
| But now your time's a-come to stand | 8 | ········ |
| In church, a-blushen at my zide, | 8 | ········ |
| The while a bridegroom vrom my hand | 8 | ···/···· |
| Ha' took ye vor his faithvul bride. | 8 | ········ |
| Your christen neaeme we gi'd ye here, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When Fall did cool the weaesten year; | 8 | ········ |
| An' now, ageaen, we brought ye drough | 8 | ········ |
| The doorway, wi' your surneaeme new, | 8 | ·/······ |
| In slanten light o' Fall. | 8 | ········ |
| An' zoo vur, Jeaene, your life is feaeir, | 8 | ········ |
| An' God ha' been your steadvast friend, | 8 | ········ |
| An' mid ye have mwore jay than ceaere, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor ever, till your journey's end. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' I've a-watch'd ye on wi' pride, | 8 | ········ |
| But now I soon mus' leaeve your zide, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor you ha' still life's spring-tide zun, | 8 | ········ |
| But my life, Jeaene, is now a-run | 8 | ········ |
| To slanten light o' Fall. | 8 | ········ |
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