The Zummer Hedge
As light do gleaere in ev'ry ground,Wi' boughy hedges out a-roundA-climmen up the slopen browsO' hills, in rows o' sheaedy boughs:The while the hawthorn buds do blowAs thick as stars, an' white as snow;Or cream-white blossoms be a-spreadAbout the guelder-rwoses' head;How cool's the sheaede, or warm's the lewth,Bezide a zummer hedge in blooth.
When we've a-work'd drough longsome hours,Till dew's a-dried vrom dazzlen flow'rs,The while the climmen zun ha' glow'dDrough mwore than half his daily road:Then where the sheaedes do slily passAthirt our veet upon the grass,As we do rest by lofty ranksOv elems on the flow'ry banks;How cool's the sheaede, or warm's the lewth,Bezide a zummer hedge in blooth.
But oh! below woone hedge's zideOur jay do come a-most to pride;Out where the high-stemm'd trees do stand,In row bezide our own free land,An' where the wide-leav'd clote mid zwim'Ithin our water's rushy rim:An' rain do vall, an' zuns do burn,An' each in season, and in turn,To cool the sheaede or warm the lewthOv our own zummer hedge in blooth.
How soft do sheaeke the zummer hedge--How soft do sway the zummer zedge--How bright be zummer skies an' zun--How bright the zummer brook do run;An' feaeir the flow'rs do bloom, to feaedeBehind the swayen mower's bleaede;An' sweet be merry looks o' jay,By weaeles an' pooks o' June's new hay,Wi' smilen age, an laughen youth,Bezide the zummer hedge in blooth.
Words in this poem
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
- longsome a.
- Extended in length; tiresome. Bp. Hall. Prior. [AS. langsum.]
- clote n.
- The common burdock; the clotbur. Wyclif. [AS. cl: cf. G. klette.]
- rushy a.
- Abounding with rushes.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Zummer Hedge 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 Zummer Hedge, 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-zummer-hedge.html, id L02198.
Form and metre
The Zummer Hedge is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 75% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% 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 AABBCCDD-- groundA · roundA · browsB · boughsB · blowC · snowC · spreadD · headD · lewth · blooth
- 2 --AABBCC-- hours · flow'rs · glow'dA · roadA · passB · grassB · ranksC · banksC · lewth · blooth
- 3 AABBCCDD-- zideA · prideA · standB · landB · zwimC · rimC · burnD · turnD · lewth · blooth
- 4 AA--BBCCDD hedgeA · zedgeA · zun · run · feaedeB · bleaedeB · jayC · hayC · youthD · bloothD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As light do gleaere in ev'ry ground, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' boughy hedges out a-round | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-climmen up the slopen brows | 8 | ········ |
| O' hills, in rows o' sheaedy boughs: | 8 | ········ |
| The while the hawthorn buds do blow | 8 | ···/···· |
| As thick as stars, an' white as snow; | 8 | ········ |
| Or cream-white blossoms be a-spread | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| About the guelder-rwoses' head; | 8 | ········ |
| How cool's the sheaede, or warm's the lewth, | 8 | ········ |
| Bezide a zummer hedge in blooth. | 8 | ········ |
| When we've a-work'd drough longsome hours, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Till dew's a-dried vrom dazzlen flow'rs, | 8 | ········ |
| The while the climmen zun ha' glow'd | 8 | ········ |
| Drough mwore than half his daily road: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then where the sheaedes do slily pass | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Athirt our veet upon the grass, | 8 | ··/····· |
| As we do rest by lofty ranks | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ov elems on the flow'ry banks; | 8 | ········ |
| How cool's the sheaede, or warm's the lewth, | 8 | ········ |
| Bezide a zummer hedge in blooth. | 8 | ········ |
| But oh! below woone hedge's zide | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Our jay do come a-most to pride; | 8 | /······· |
| Out where the high-stemm'd trees do stand, | 8 | ········ |
| In row bezide our own free land, | 8 | ····/··· |
| An' where the wide-leav'd clote mid zwim | 8 | ········ |
| 'Ithin our water's rushy rim: | 8 | ··//˘/˘· |
| An' rain do vall, an' zuns do burn, | 8 | ········ |
| An' each in season, and in turn, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To cool the sheaede or warm the lewth | 8 | ········ |
| Ov our own zummer hedge in blooth. | 8 | ·/······ |
| How soft do sheaeke the zummer hedge-- | 8 | ········ |
| How soft do sway the zummer zedge-- | 8 | ········ |
| How bright be zummer skies an' zun-- | 8 | ········ |
| How bright the zummer brook do run; | 8 | ········ |
| An' feaeir the flow'rs do bloom, to feaede | 8 | ········ |
| Behind the swayen mower's bleaede; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' sweet be merry looks o' jay, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By weaeles an' pooks o' June's new hay, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' smilen age, an laughen youth, | 8 | ········ |
| Bezide the zummer hedge in blooth. | 8 | ········ |
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