The Wold Wall
Here, Jeaene, we vu'st did meet belowThe leafy boughs, a-swingen slow,Avore the zun, wi' evenen glow,Above our road, a-beamen red;The grass in zwath wer in the meaeds,The water gleam'd among the reedsIn air a-steaelen roun' the hall,Where ivy clung upon the wall.Ah! well-a-day! O wall adieu!The wall is wold, my grief is new.
An' there you walk'd wi' blushen pride,Where softly-wheelen streams did glide,Drough sheaedes o' poplars at my zide,An' there wi' love that still do live,Your feaece did wear the smile o' youth,The while you spoke wi' age's truth,An' wi' a rwosebud's mossy ball,I deck'd your bosom vrom the wall.Ah! well-a-day! O wall adieu!The wall is wold, my grief is new.
But now when winter's rain do vall,An' wind do beaet ageaen the hall,The while upon the wat'ry wallIn spots o' grey the moss do grow;The ruf noo mwore shall overspreadThe pillor ov our weary head,Nor shall the rwose's mossy ballBehang vor you the house's wall.Ah! well-a-day! O wall adieu!The wall is wold, my grief is new.
Words in this poem
- clung a.
- Wasted away; shrunken. [Prop. p. p. fr. OE. clingen to wither. See Cling, v. i.]
- 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.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Wold Wall 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 Wold Wall, 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-wold-wall.html, id L02190.
Form and metre
The Wold Wall is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 73% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 17% 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 AAA-BBCCDD belowA · slowA · glowA · red · meaedsB · reedsB · hallC · wallC · adieuD · newD
- 2 AAA-BBCCDD prideA · glideA · zideA · live · youthB · truthB · ballC · wallC · adieuD · newD
- 3 -AA-BBAACC vall · hallA · wallA · grow · overspreadB · headB · ballA · wallA · adieuC · newC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Here, Jeaene, we vu'st did meet below | 8 | ········ |
| The leafy boughs, a-swingen slow, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Avore the zun, wi' evenen glow, | 9 | ········· |
| Above our road, a-beamen red; | 8 | ··/····· |
| The grass in zwath wer in the meaeds, | 8 | ········ |
| The water gleam'd among the reeds | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In air a-steaelen roun' the hall, | 8 | ········ |
| Where ivy clung upon the wall. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ah! well-a-day! O wall adieu! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The wall is wold, my grief is new. | 8 | ········ |
| An' there you walk'd wi' blushen pride, | 8 | ········ |
| Where softly-wheelen streams did glide, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Drough sheaedes o' poplars at my zide, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' there wi' love that still do live, | 8 | ········ |
| Your feaece did wear the smile o' youth, | 8 | ········ |
| The while you spoke wi' age's truth, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' wi' a rwosebud's mossy ball, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| I deck'd your bosom vrom the wall. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ah! well-a-day! O wall adieu! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The wall is wold, my grief is new. | 8 | ········ |
| But now when winter's rain do vall, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' wind do beaet ageaen the hall, | 8 | ········ |
| The while upon the wat'ry wall | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In spots o' grey the moss do grow; | 8 | ········ |
| The ruf noo mwore shall overspread | 8 | ········ |
| The pillor ov our weary head, | 8 | ····//˘· |
| Nor shall the rwose's mossy ball | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Behang vor you the house's wall. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ah! well-a-day! O wall adieu! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The wall is wold, my grief is new. | 8 | ········ |
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