The Two Churches
A happy day, a happy year.A zummer Zunday, dazzlen clear,I went athirt vrom Lea to Noke.To goo to church wi' Fanny's vo'k:The sky o' blue did only showA cloud or two, so white as snow,An' air did sway, wi' softest strokes,The eltrot roun' the dark-bough'd woaks.O day o' rest when bells do toll!O day a-blest to ev'ry soul!How sweet the zwells o' Zunday bells.
An' on the cowslip-knap at Creech,Below the grove o' steaetely beech,I heaerd two tow'rs a-cheemen clear,Vrom woone I went, to woone drew near,As they did call, by flow'ry ground,The bright-shod veet vrom housen round,A-drownen wi' their holy call,The goocoo an' the water-vall.Die off, O bells o' my dear pleaece,Ring out, O bells avore my feaece,Vull sweet your zwells, O ding-dong bells.
Ah! then vor things that time did bringMy kinsvo'k, Lea had bells to ring;An' then, ageaen, vor what bevellMy wife's, why Noke church had a bell;But soon wi' hopevul lives a-boundIn woone, we had woone tower's sound,Vor our high jays all vive bells rungOur losses had woone iron tongue.Oh! ring all round, an' never mwoaenSo deep an' slow woone bell alwone,Vor sweet your swells o' vive clear bells.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- cowslip n.
- A common flower in England (Primula veris) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. [AS. c, c, prob. orig., cow's droppings. Cf. Slop, n.]
- knap v. t.
- To bite; to bite off; to break short. [D. knappen to chew, bite, crack, take hold of; prob. of imitative origin.]
- ding v. t.
- To dash; to throw violently. [OE. dingen, dengen; akin to AS. dencgan to knock, Icel. dengja to beat, hammer, Sw. dänga, G. dengeln.]
- vive a.
- Lively; animated; forcible. [L. vivus: cf. F. vif. See Vivid.]
- rung n.
- A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Two Churches 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 Two Churches, 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-two-churches.html, id L02261.
Form and metre
The Two Churches is 33 lines in 3 stanzas of 11 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 79% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 99% 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. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEE- yearA · clearA · nokeB · vo'kB · showC · snowC · strokesD · woaksD · tollE · soulE · bells
- 2 AABBCC--DD- creechA · beechA · clearB · nearB · groundC · roundC · call · vall · pleaeceD · feaeceD · bells
- 3 AABBCCDD--- bringA · ringA · bevellB · bellB · boundC · soundC · rungD · tongueD · mwoaen · alwone · bells
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A happy day, a happy year. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A zummer Zunday, dazzlen clear, | 8 | ········ |
| I went athirt vrom Lea to Noke. | 8 | ········ |
| To goo to church wi' Fanny's vo'k: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The sky o' blue did only show | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A cloud or two, so white as snow, | 8 | ········ |
| An' air did sway, wi' softest strokes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The eltrot roun' the dark-bough'd woaks. | 8 | ········ |
| O day o' rest when bells do toll! | 8 | ········ |
| O day a-blest to ev'ry soul! | 8 | ········ |
| How sweet the zwells o' Zunday bells. | 8 | ········ |
| An' on the cowslip-knap at Creech, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Below the grove o' steaetely beech, | 9 | ········· |
| I heaerd two tow'rs a-cheemen clear, | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom woone I went, to woone drew near, | 8 | ········ |
| As they did call, by flow'ry ground, | 8 | ········ |
| The bright-shod veet vrom housen round, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-drownen wi' their holy call, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The goocoo an' the water-vall. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Die off, O bells o' my dear pleaece, | 8 | ········ |
| Ring out, O bells avore my feaece, | 8 | ········ |
| Vull sweet your zwells, O ding-dong bells. | 8 | ········ |
| Ah! then vor things that time did bring | 8 | ········ |
| My kinsvo'k, Lea had bells to ring; | 8 | ········ |
| An' then, ageaen, vor what bevell | 8 | ······/˘ |
| My wife's, why Noke church had a bell; | 8 | ········ |
| But soon wi' hopevul lives a-bound | 9 | ········· |
| In woone, we had woone tower's sound, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vor our high jays all vive bells rung | 8 | ·/······ |
| Our losses had woone iron tongue. | 8 | //˘··/˘· |
| Oh! ring all round, an' never mwoaen | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So deep an' slow woone bell alwone, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor sweet your swells o' vive clear bells. | 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.