The Weepen Leady
When, leaete o' nights, above the greenBy thik wold house, the moon do sheen,A leaedy there, a-hangen lowHer head, 's a-walken to an' froIn robes so white's the driven snow,Wi' woone eaerm down, while woone do restAll lily-white athirt the breastO' thik poor weepen leaedy.
The whirlen wind an' whis'len squallDo sheaeke the ivy by the wall,An' meaeke the plyen tree-tops rock,But never ruffle her white frock;An' slammen door an' rattlen lock,That in thik empty house do sound,Do never seem to meaeke look roundThik ever downcast leaedy.
A leaedy, as the teaele do goo,That woonce liv'd there, an' lov'd too true,Wer by a young man cast azide.A mother sad, but not a bride;An' then her father, in his prideAn' anger, offer'd woone o' twoVull bitter things to undergooTo thik poor weepen leaedy:
That she herzelf should leaeve his door,To darken it ageaen noo mwore;Or that her little playsome chile,A-zent away a thousand mile,Should never meet her eyes to smileAn' play ageaen; till she, in sheaeme,Should die an' leaeve a tarnish'd neaeme,A sad vorseaeken leaedy.
"Let me be lost," she cried, "the whileI do but know vor my poor chile;"An' left the hwome ov all her pride,To wander drough the worold wide,Wi' grief that vew but she ha' tried:An' lik' a flow'r a blow ha' broke,She wither'd wi' the deadly stroke,An' died a weepen leaedy.
An' she do keep a-comen onTo zee her father dead an' gone,As if her soul could have noo restAvore her teaery cheaek's a-prestBy his vorgiven kiss. Zoo blestBe they that can but live in love,An' vind a pleaece o' rest aboveUnlik' the weepen leaedy.
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.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- playsome a.
- Playful; wanton; sportive. R. Browning.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- prest a.
- Ready; prompt; prepared. [OF. prest, F. prêt, fr. L. praestus ready. Cf. Presto.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Weepen Leady 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 Weepen Leady, 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-weepen-leady.html, id L02101.
Form and metre
The Weepen Leady is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. 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 7.9 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% 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 AABBBCC- greenA · sheenA · lowB · froB · snowB · restC · breastC · leaedy
- 2 AABBBCC- squallA · wallA · rockB · frockB · lockB · soundC · roundC · leaedy
- 3 AABBBA-- gooA · trueA · azideB · brideB · prideB · twoA · undergoo · leaedy
- 4 AA-BBCC- doorA · mworeA · chile · mileB · smileB · sheaemeC · neaemeC · leaedy
- 5 --AAABB- while · chile · prideA · wideA · triedA · brokeB · strokeB · leaedy
- 6 AABBBCC- onA · goneA · restB · prestB · blestB · loveC · aboveC · leaedy
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, leaete o' nights, above the green | 8 | ········ |
| By thik wold house, the moon do sheen, | 8 | ········ |
| A leaedy there, a-hangen low | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Her head, 's a-walken to an' fro | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| In robes so white's the driven snow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wi' woone eaerm down, while woone do rest | 8 | ········ |
| All lily-white athirt the breast | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O' thik poor weepen leaedy. | 7 | ······· |
| The whirlen wind an' whis'len squall | 8 | ········ |
| Do sheaeke the ivy by the wall, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' meaeke the plyen tree-tops rock, | 7 | ······· |
| But never ruffle her white frock; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| An' slammen door an' rattlen lock, | 8 | ········ |
| That in thik empty house do sound, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Do never seem to meaeke look round | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Thik ever downcast leaedy. | 7 | ·/˘/··· |
| A leaedy, as the teaele do goo, | 9 | ········· |
| That woonce liv'd there, an' lov'd too true, | 8 | ········ |
| Wer by a young man cast azide. | 8 | ········ |
| A mother sad, but not a bride; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' then her father, in his pride | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' anger, offer'd woone o' two | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Vull bitter things to undergoo | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To thik poor weepen leaedy: | 7 | ······· |
| That she herzelf should leaeve his door, | 8 | ········ |
| To darken it ageaen noo mwore; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or that her little playsome chile, | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| A-zent away a thousand mile, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Should never meet her eyes to smile | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' play ageaen; till she, in sheaeme, | 8 | ········ |
| Should die an' leaeve a tarnish'd neaeme, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A sad vorseaeken leaedy. | 7 | ······· |
| "Let me be lost," she cried, "the while | 8 | ········ |
| I do but know vor my poor chile;" | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| An' left the hwome ov all her pride, | 8 | ········ |
| To wander drough the worold wide, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wi' grief that vew but she ha' tried: | 8 | ········ |
| An' lik' a flow'r a blow ha' broke, | 8 | ········ |
| She wither'd wi' the deadly stroke, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' died a weepen leaedy. | 7 | ······· |
| An' she do keep a-comen on | 8 | ········ |
| To zee her father dead an' gone, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As if her soul could have noo rest | 8 | ········ |
| Avore her teaery cheaek's a-prest | 8 | ········ |
| By his vorgiven kiss. Zoo blest | 8 | ········ |
| Be they that can but live in love, | 8 | ········ |
| An' vind a pleaece o' rest above | 8 | ········ |
| Unlik' the weepen leaedy. | 7 | ······· |
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