Turnen Things Off
Upzides wi' Polly! no, he'd vindThat Poll would soon leaeve him behind.To turn things off! oh! she's too quickTo be a-caught by ev'ry trick.Woone day our Jimmy stole down steaeirsOn merry Polly unaweaeres,The while her nimble tongue did runA-tellen, all alive wi' fun,To sister Anne, how Simon HeaereDid hanker after her at feaeir."He left," cried Polly, "cousin Jeaene,An' kept wi' us all down the leaene,An' which way ever we did leaedHe vollow'd over hill an' meaed;An' wi' his head o' shaggy heaeir,An' sleek brown cwoat that he do weaere,An' collar that did reach so high'S his two red ears, or perty nigh,He swung his taeil, wi' steps o' pride,Back right an' left, vrom zide to zide,A-walken on, wi' heavy stridesA half behind, an' half upzides.""Who's that?" cried Jimmy, all agog;An' thought he had her now han'-pat,"That's Simon Heaere," but no, "Who's that?"Cried she at woonce, "Why Uncle's dog,Wi' what have you a-been misledI wonder. Tell me what I zaid."Woone evenen as she zot bezideThe wall the ranglen vine do hide,A-prattlen on, as she did zendHer needle, at her vinger's end.On drough the work she had in hand,Zome bran-new thing that she'd a-plann'd,Jim overheaerd her talk ageaenO' Robin Hine, ov Ivy Leaene,"Oh! no, what he!" she cried in scorn,"I woulden gie a penny vor'n;The best ov him's outzide in view;His cwoat is gay enough, 'tis true,But then the wold vo'k didden bringEn up to know a single thing,An' as vor zingen,--what do seemHis zingen's nothen but a scream.""So ho!" cried Jim, "Who's that, then, Meaery,That you be now a-talken o'?"He thought to catch her then, but, no,Cried Polly, "Oh! why Jeaene's caneaery,Wi' what have you a-been misled,I wonder. Tell me what I zaid."
Words in this poem
- polly n.
- A woman's name; also, a popular name for a parrot.
- jimmy n.
- A short crowbar used by burglars in breaking open doors. [Cf. Jemmy.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- hanker v. i.
- To long (for) with a keen appetite and uneasiness; to have a vehement desire; -- usually with for or after; as, to hanker after fruit; to hanker after the diversions of the town. [Prob. fr. hang; cf. D. hunkeren, hengelen.]
- agog a.
- In eager desire; eager; astir. [Cf. F. gogue fun, perhaps of Celtic origin.]
- hine n.
- A servant; a farm laborer; a peasant; a hind. [See Hind a servant.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Turnen Things Off 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, Turnen Things Off, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/turnen-things-off.html, id L02351.
Form and metre
Turnen Things Off is 50 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 72% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 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 AABB--CCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ-KK---LLMMMMNNOOPPQQRRSTTS-- vindA · behindA · quickB · trickB · steaeirs · unaweaeres · runC · funC · heaereD · feaeirD · jeaeneE · leaeneE · leaedF · meaedF · heaeirG · weaereG · highH · nighH · prideI · zideI · stridesJ · upzidesJ · agog · patK · thatK · dog · misled · zaid · bezideL · hideL · zendM · endM · handM · plann'dM · ageaenN · leaeneN · scornO · vor'nO · viewP · trueP · bringQ · thingQ · seemR · screamR · meaeryS · oT · noT · caneaeryS · misled · zaid
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Upzides wi' Polly! no, he'd vind | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That Poll would soon leaeve him behind. | 8 | ········ |
| To turn things off! oh! she's too quick | 8 | ········ |
| To be a-caught by ev'ry trick. | 8 | ········ |
| Woone day our Jimmy stole down steaeirs | 8 | ··//˘··· |
| On merry Polly unaweaeres, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The while her nimble tongue did run | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-tellen, all alive wi' fun, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| To sister Anne, how Simon Heaere | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Did hanker after her at feaeir. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "He left," cried Polly, "cousin Jeaene, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An' kept wi' us all down the leaene, | 8 | ········ |
| An' which way ever we did leaed | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He vollow'd over hill an' meaed; | 8 | ········ |
| An' wi' his head o' shaggy heaeir, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' sleek brown cwoat that he do weaere, | 8 | ········ |
| An' collar that did reach so high | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'S his two red ears, or perty nigh, | 9 | ········· |
| He swung his taeil, wi' steps o' pride, | 8 | ········ |
| Back right an' left, vrom zide to zide, | 8 | ········ |
| A-walken on, wi' heavy strides | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A half behind, an' half upzides." | 8 | ········ |
| "Who's that?" cried Jimmy, all agog; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| An' thought he had her now han'-pat, | 8 | ········ |
| "That's Simon Heaere," but no, "Who's that?" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Cried she at woonce, "Why Uncle's dog, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wi' what have you a-been misled | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I wonder. Tell me what I zaid." | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Woone evenen as she zot bezide | 9 | ········· |
| The wall the ranglen vine do hide, | 8 | ········ |
| A-prattlen on, as she did zend | 8 | ········ |
| Her needle, at her vinger's end. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On drough the work she had in hand, | 8 | ········ |
| Zome bran-new thing that she'd a-plann'd, | 8 | ········ |
| Jim overheaerd her talk ageaen | 8 | ········ |
| O' Robin Hine, ov Ivy Leaene, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "Oh! no, what he!" she cried in scorn, | 8 | ········ |
| "I woulden gie a penny vor'n; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The best ov him's outzide in view; | 8 | ········ |
| His cwoat is gay enough, 'tis true, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| But then the wold vo'k didden bring | 8 | ········ |
| En up to know a single thing, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' as vor zingen,--what do seem | 8 | ········ |
| His zingen's nothen but a scream." | 8 | ········ |
| "So ho!" cried Jim, "Who's that, then, Meaery, | 9 | ········· |
| That you be now a-talken o'?" | 8 | ········ |
| He thought to catch her then, but, no, | 8 | ········ |
| Cried Polly, "Oh! why Jeaene's caneaery, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Wi' what have you a-been misled, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I wonder. Tell me what I zaid." | 8 | ·/˘····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.