The Winter's Willow
There Liddy zot bezide her cow,Upon her lowly seat, O;A hood did overhang her brow,Her pail wer at her veet, O;An' she wer kind, an' she wer feaeir,An' she wer young, an' free o' ceaere;Vew winters had a-blow'd her heaeir,Bezide the Winter's Willow.
She idden woone a-rear'd in townWhere many a gayer lass, O,Do trip a-smilen up an' down,So peaele wi' smoke an' gas, O;But here, in vields o' greaezen herds,Her vaeice ha' mingled sweetest wordsWi' evenen cheaerms o' busy birds,Bezide the Winter's Willow.
An' when, at last, wi' beaeten breast,I knock'd avore her door, O,She ax'd me in to teaeke the bestO' pleaeces on the vloor, O;An' smilen feaeir avore my zight,She blush'd bezide the yollow lightO' bleaezen brands, while winds o' nightDo sheaeke the Winter's Willow.
An' if there's readship in her smile,She don't begrudge to speaere, O,To zomebody, a little while,The empty woaken chair, O;An' if I've luck upon my zide,Why, I do think she'll be my brideAvore the leaves ha' twice a-diedUpon the Winter's Willow.
Above the coach-wheels' rollen rimsShe never rose to ride, O,Though she do zet her comely lim'sAbove the mare's white zide, O;But don't become too proud to stoopAn' scrub her milken pail's white hoop,Or zit a-milken where do droop,The wet-stemm'd Winter's Willow.
An' I've a cow or two in leaeze,Along the river-zide, O,An' pails to zet avore her knees,At dawn an' evenen-tide, O;An' there she still mid zit, an' lookAthirt upon the woody nookWhere vu'st I zeed her by the brookBezide the Winter's Willow.
Zoo, who would heed the treeless down,A-beaet by all the storms, O,Or who would heed the busy town,Where vo'k do goo in zwarms, O;If he wer in my house belowThe elems, where the vier did glowIn Liddy's feaece, though winds did blowAgeaen the Winter's Willow.
Words in this poem
- overhang v. t.
- To impend or hang over. Beau. & Fl.
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- begrudge v. t.
- To grudge; to envy the possession of.
- milken a.
- Consisting of milk.
- 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.]
- treeless
- Destitute of trees. C. Kingsley.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Winter's Willow 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 Winter's Willow, 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-winter-s-willow.html, id L02217.
Form and metre
The Winter's Willow is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCCB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 29% 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 ABABCCCB cowA · oB · browA · oB · feaeirC · ceaereC · heaeirC · willowB
- 2 ABABCCCB townA · oB · downA · oB · herdsC · wordsC · birdsC · willowB
- 3 ABABCCCB breastA · oB · bestA · oB · zightC · lightC · nightC · willowB
- 4 ABABCCCB smileA · oB · whileA · oB · zideC · brideC · diedC · willowB
- 5 ABABCCCB rimsA · oB · lim'sA · oB · stoopC · hoopC · droopC · willowB
- 6 ABABCCCB leaezeA · oB · kneesA · oB · lookC · nookC · brookC · willowB
- 7 ABABBBBB downA · oB · townA · oB · belowB · glowB · blowB · willowB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| There Liddy zot bezide her cow, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon her lowly seat, O; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| A hood did overhang her brow, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Her pail wer at her veet, O; | 7 | ······· |
| An' she wer kind, an' she wer feaeir, | 8 | ········ |
| An' she wer young, an' free o' ceaere; | 8 | ········ |
| Vew winters had a-blow'd her heaeir, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Bezide the Winter's Willow. | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| She idden woone a-rear'd in town | 8 | ········ |
| Where many a gayer lass, O, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Do trip a-smilen up an' down, | 8 | ········ |
| So peaele wi' smoke an' gas, O; | 8 | ········ |
| But here, in vields o' greaezen herds, | 8 | ········ |
| Her vaeice ha' mingled sweetest words | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Wi' evenen cheaerms o' busy birds, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Bezide the Winter's Willow. | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| An' when, at last, wi' beaeten breast, | 8 | ········ |
| I knock'd avore her door, O, | 7 | ······· |
| She ax'd me in to teaeke the best | 8 | ········ |
| O' pleaeces on the vloor, O; | 7 | ······· |
| An' smilen feaeir avore my zight, | 8 | ········ |
| She blush'd bezide the yollow light | 8 | ········ |
| O' bleaezen brands, while winds o' night | 8 | ········ |
| Do sheaeke the Winter's Willow. | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| An' if there's readship in her smile, | 8 | ········ |
| She don't begrudge to speaere, O, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| To zomebody, a little while, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| The empty woaken chair, O; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| An' if I've luck upon my zide, | 8 | ········ |
| Why, I do think she'll be my bride | 8 | ········ |
| Avore the leaves ha' twice a-died | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the Winter's Willow. | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| Above the coach-wheels' rollen rims | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She never rose to ride, O, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Though she do zet her comely lim's | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Above the mare's white zide, O; | 7 | ······· |
| But don't become too proud to stoop | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| An' scrub her milken pail's white hoop, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Or zit a-milken where do droop, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The wet-stemm'd Winter's Willow. | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| An' I've a cow or two in leaeze, | 8 | ········ |
| Along the river-zide, O, | 7 | ˘/·/˘·· |
| An' pails to zet avore her knees, | 8 | ········ |
| At dawn an' evenen-tide, O; | 8 | ········ |
| An' there she still mid zit, an' look | 8 | ········ |
| Athirt upon the woody nook | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where vu'st I zeed her by the brook | 8 | ········ |
| Bezide the Winter's Willow. | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| Zoo, who would heed the treeless down, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-beaet by all the storms, O, | 7 | ······· |
| Or who would heed the busy town, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where vo'k do goo in zwarms, O; | 7 | ······· |
| If he wer in my house below | 8 | ········ |
| The elems, where the vier did glow | 8 | ········ |
| In Liddy's feaece, though winds did blow | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ageaen the Winter's Willow. | 7 | ···/˘/· |
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