The Veairy Veet That I Do Meet
When dewy fall's red leaves do vleeAlong the grass below the tree,Or lie in yollow beds a-shookUpon the shallow-water'd brook,Or drove 'ithin a sheaedy nook;Then softly, in the evenen, downThe knap do steal along the groun'The veaeiry veet that I do meetBelow the row o' beech trees.
'Tis jist avore the candle-lightDo redden windows up at night,An' peaeler stars do light the vogsA-risen vrom the brooks an' bogs,An' when in barkens yoppen dogsDo bark at vo'k a-comen near,Or growl a-lis'enen to hearThe veaeiry veet that I do meetBelow the row o' beech trees.
Dree times a-year do bless the roadO' womanhood a-gwain abrode:When vu'st her litty veet do treadThe eaerly May's white deaeisy bed:When leaves be all a-scattered dead;An' when the winter's vrozen grassDo glissen in the zun lik' glassVor veaeiry veet that I do meetBelow the row o' beech trees.
Words in this poem
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
- knap v. t.
- To bite; to bite off; to break short. [D. knappen to chew, bite, crack, take hold of; prob. of imitative origin.]
- dree v. i.
- To be able to do or endure.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Veairy Veet That I Do Meet 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 Veairy Veet That I Do Meet, 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-veairy-veet-that-i-do-meet.html, id L02088.
Form and metre
The Veairy Veet That I Do Meet is 27 lines in 3 stanzas of 9 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, 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 7.9 syllables. 52% 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 AABBB---- vleeA · treeA · shookB · brookB · nookB · down · groun · meet · trees
- 2 AABBBCC-- lightA · nightA · vogsB · bogsB · dogsB · nearC · hearC · meet · trees
- 3 AABBBCC-- roadA · abrodeA · treadB · bedB · deadB · grassC · glassC · meet · trees
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When dewy fall's red leaves do vlee | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Along the grass below the tree, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Or lie in yollow beds a-shook | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the shallow-water'd brook, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Or drove 'ithin a sheaedy nook; | 8 | ········ |
| Then softly, in the evenen, down | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The knap do steal along the groun' | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The veaeiry veet that I do meet | 8 | ········ |
| Below the row o' beech trees. | 7 | ······· |
| 'Tis jist avore the candle-light | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Do redden windows up at night, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| An' peaeler stars do light the vogs | 8 | ········ |
| A-risen vrom the brooks an' bogs, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' when in barkens yoppen dogs | 8 | ········ |
| Do bark at vo'k a-comen near, | 8 | ········ |
| Or growl a-lis'enen to hear | 8 | ········ |
| The veaeiry veet that I do meet | 8 | ········ |
| Below the row o' beech trees. | 7 | ······· |
| Dree times a-year do bless the road | 8 | ········ |
| O' womanhood a-gwain abrode: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When vu'st her litty veet do tread | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The eaerly May's white deaeisy bed: | 8 | ········ |
| When leaves be all a-scattered dead; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' when the winter's vrozen grass | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Do glissen in the zun lik' glass | 8 | ········ |
| Vor veaeiry veet that I do meet | 8 | ········ |
| Below the row o' beech trees. | 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.