The Welshnut Tree
When in the evenen the zun's a-zinken,A drowen sheaedes vrom the yollow west,An' mother, weary, 's a-zot a thinken,Wi' vwolded eaerms by the vire at rest,Then we do zwarm, O,Wi' such a charm, O,So vull o' glee by the welshnut tree.
A-leaeven father in-doors, a-leinen'In his girt chair in his easy shoes,Or in the settle so high behine en,While down bezide en the dog do snooze,Our tongues do run, O,Enough to stun, O,Your head wi' glee by the welshnut tree.
There we do play 'thread the woman's needle.'An' slap the maidens a-darten drough:Or try who'll ax em the hardest riddle,Or soonest tell woone a-put us, true;Or zit an' ring, O,The bells, ding, ding, O,Upon our knee by the welshnut tree.
An' zome do goo out, an' hide in orcha't,An' tothers, slily a-stealen by,Where there's a dark cunnen pleaece, do sarch it,Till they do zee em an' cry, "I spy,"An' thik a-vound, O,Do gi'e a bound, O,To get off free to the welshnut tree.
Poll went woone night, that we midden vind her,Inzide a woak wi' a hollow moot,An' drough a hole near the groun' behind her,I pok'd a stick in, an' catch'd her voot;An' out she scream'd, O,An' jump'd, an' seem'd, O,A-most to vlee to the welshnut tree.
An' when, at last, at the drashel, motherDo call us, smilen, in-door to rest,Then we do cluster by woone another,To zee hwome them we do love the best:An' then do sound, O,"Good night," all round, O,To end our glee by the welshnut tree.
Words in this poem
- vire n.
- An arrow, having a rotary motion, formerly used with the crossbow. Cf. Vireton. Gower. [OF. vire, fr. virer to turn. Cf. Veer, Vireton.]
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- 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.]
- snooze n.
- A short sleep; a nap. [Scot. snooze to sleep; cf. Dan. & Sw. snus snuff.]
- 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.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- moot n.
- A ring for gauging wooden pins.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Welshnut Tree 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 Welshnut Tree, 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-welshnut-tree.html, id L02085.
Form and metre
The Welshnut Tree is 42 lines in 6 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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- zinkenA · westB · thinkenA · restB · oC · oC · tree
- 2 ABABCC- leinenA · shoesB · enA · snoozeB · oC · oC · tree
- 3 ----AA- needle · drough · riddle · true · oA · oA · tree
- 4 -A-ABBA orcha't · byA · it · spyA · oB · oB · treeA
- 5 ABABCC- herA · mootB · herA · vootB · oC · oC · tree
- 6 ABABCC- motherA · restB · anotherA · bestB · oC · oC · tree
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When in the evenen the zun's a-zinken, | 11 | ··········· |
| A drowen sheaedes vrom the yollow west, | 9 | ········· |
| An' mother, weary, 's a-zot a thinken, | 11 | ·/˘/˘······ |
| Wi' vwolded eaerms by the vire at rest, | 9 | ········· |
| Then we do zwarm, O, | 5 | ····· |
| Wi' such a charm, O, | 5 | ····· |
| So vull o' glee by the welshnut tree. | 9 | ········· |
| A-leaeven father in-doors, a-leinen' | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| In his girt chair in his easy shoes, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Or in the settle so high behine en, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| While down bezide en the dog do snooze, | 9 | ········· |
| Our tongues do run, O, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Enough to stun, O, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| Your head wi' glee by the welshnut tree. | 9 | ········· |
| There we do play 'thread the woman's needle.' | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| An' slap the maidens a-darten drough: | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Or try who'll ax em the hardest riddle, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Or soonest tell woone a-put us, true; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Or zit an' ring, O, | 5 | ····· |
| The bells, ding, ding, O, | 5 | ····· |
| Upon our knee by the welshnut tree. | 9 | ··/······ |
| An' zome do goo out, an' hide in orcha't, | 10 | ·········· |
| An' tothers, slily a-stealen by, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Where there's a dark cunnen pleaece, do sarch it, | 10 | ·········· |
| Till they do zee em an' cry, "I spy," | 9 | ········· |
| An' thik a-vound, O, | 5 | ····· |
| Do gi'e a bound, O, | 5 | ····· |
| To get off free to the welshnut tree. | 9 | ········· |
| Poll went woone night, that we midden vind her, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Inzide a woak wi' a hollow moot, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| An' drough a hole near the groun' behind her, | 10 | ·········· |
| I pok'd a stick in, an' catch'd her voot; | 9 | ········· |
| An' out she scream'd, O, | 5 | ····· |
| An' jump'd, an' seem'd, O, | 5 | ····· |
| A-most to vlee to the welshnut tree. | 9 | ········· |
| An' when, at last, at the drashel, mother | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Do call us, smilen, in-door to rest, | 9 | ········· |
| Then we do cluster by woone another, | 10 | ···/˘··˘/˘ |
| To zee hwome them we do love the best: | 9 | ········· |
| An' then do sound, O, | 5 | ····· |
| "Good night," all round, O, | 5 | ····· |
| To end our glee by the welshnut tree. | 9 | ··/······ |
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