The Stage Coach
Ah! when the wold vo'k went abroadThey thought it vast enough,If vow'r good ho'ses beaet the roadAvore the coach's ruf;An' there they zot,A-cwold or hot,An' roll'd along the ground,While the whip did smackOn the ho'ses' back,An' the wheels went swiftly round, Good so's;The wheels went swiftly round.
Noo iron rails did streak the landTo keep the wheels in track.The coachman turn'd his vow'r-in-hand,Out right, or left, an' back;An' he'd stop avoreA man's own door,To teaeke en up or down:While the reins vell slackOn the ho'ses' back,Till the wheels did rottle round ageaen;Till the wheels did rottle round.
An' there, when wintry win' did blow,Athirt the plain an' hill,An' the zun wer peaele above the snow,An' ice did stop the mill,They did laugh an' jokeWi' cwoat or cloke,So warmly roun' em bound,While the whip did crackOn the ho'ses' back,An' the wheels did trundle round, d'ye know;The wheels did trundle round.
An' when the rumblen coach did passWhere hufflen winds did roar,They'd stop to teaeke a warmen glassBy the sign above the door;An' did laugh an' jokeAn' ax the vo'kThe miles they wer vrom town,Till the whip did crackOn the ho'ses back,An' the wheels did truckle roun', good vo'k;The wheels did truckle roun'.
An' gaily rod wold age or youth,When zummer light did vallOn woods in leaf, or trees in blooth,Or girt vo'ks parkzide wall.An' they thought they pastThe pleaeces vast,Along the dousty groun',When the whip did smackOn the ho'ses' back,An' the wheels spun swiftly roun'. Them daysThe wheels spun swiftly roun'.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- coachman n.
- A man whose business is to drive a coach or carriage.
- vell n.
- The salted stomach of a calf, used in making cheese; a rennet bag. [Cf. L. vellus the skin of a sheep with the wool on it, a fleece, a hide or pelt, or E. fell a hide.]
- wintry a.
- Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. [AS. wintrig.]
- warmly adv.
- In a warm manner; ardently.
- truckle n.
- A small wheel or caster. Hudibras. [Dim. of truck a wheel; or from the kindred L. trochlea a block, sheaf containing one or more pulleys. See Truck a wheel.]
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Stage Coach 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 Stage Coach, 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-stage-coach.html, id L02206.
Form and metre
The Stage Coach is 55 lines in 5 stanzas of 11 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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-ABBCDD-C abroad · enoughA · road · rufA · zotB · hotB · groundC · smackD · backD · so's · roundC
- 2 ABABCC-BB-- landA · trackB · handA · backB · avoreC · doorC · down · slackB · backB · ageaen · round
- 3 ABABCCDEEAD blowA · hillB · snowA · millB · jokeC · clokeC · boundD · crackE · backE · knowA · roundD
- 4 ABAB-C-DDC- passA · roarB · glassA · doorB · joke · vo'kC · town · crackD · backD · vo'kC · roun
- 5 A-A-BBCDD-C youthA · vall · bloothA · wall · pastB · vastB · grounC · smackD · backD · days · rounC
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ah! when the wold vo'k went abroad | 8 | ······˘/ |
| They thought it vast enough, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| If vow'r good ho'ses beaet the road | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Avore the coach's ruf; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| An' there they zot, | 4 | ···· |
| A-cwold or hot, | 4 | ···· |
| An' roll'd along the ground, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| While the whip did smack | 5 | ····· |
| On the ho'ses' back, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| An' the wheels went swiftly round, Good so's; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| The wheels went swiftly round. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Noo iron rails did streak the land | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To keep the wheels in track. | 6 | ······ |
| The coachman turn'd his vow'r-in-hand, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Out right, or left, an' back; | 6 | ······ |
| An' he'd stop avore | 5 | ····· |
| A man's own door, | 4 | ···· |
| To teaeke en up or down: | 6 | ······ |
| While the reins vell slack | 5 | ····· |
| On the ho'ses' back, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Till the wheels did rottle round ageaen; | 9 | ········· |
| Till the wheels did rottle round. | 7 | ······· |
| An' there, when wintry win' did blow, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Athirt the plain an' hill, | 6 | ······ |
| An' the zun wer peaele above the snow, | 10 | ·········· |
| An' ice did stop the mill, | 6 | ······ |
| They did laugh an' joke | 5 | ····· |
| Wi' cwoat or cloke, | 4 | ···· |
| So warmly roun' em bound, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| While the whip did crack | 5 | ····· |
| On the ho'ses' back, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| An' the wheels did trundle round, d'ye know; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| The wheels did trundle round. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| An' when the rumblen coach did pass | 8 | ········ |
| Where hufflen winds did roar, | 6 | ······ |
| They'd stop to teaeke a warmen glass | 8 | ········ |
| By the sign above the door; | 7 | ······· |
| An' did laugh an' joke | 5 | ····· |
| An' ax the vo'k | 4 | ···· |
| The miles they wer vrom town, | 6 | ······ |
| Till the whip did crack | 5 | ····· |
| On the ho'ses back, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| An' the wheels did truckle roun', good vo'k; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| The wheels did truckle roun'. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| An' gaily rod wold age or youth, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When zummer light did vall | 6 | ······ |
| On woods in leaf, or trees in blooth, | 8 | ········ |
| Or girt vo'ks parkzide wall. | 6 | ······ |
| An' they thought they past | 5 | ····· |
| The pleaeces vast, | 4 | ···· |
| Along the dousty groun', | 6 | ˘/···· |
| When the whip did smack | 5 | ····· |
| On the ho'ses' back, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| An' the wheels spun swiftly roun'. Them days | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| The wheels spun swiftly roun'. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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.